Matt Piacente

Veteran Chicago television news producer Matt Piacente has been named vice president of news at WVIT-TV, the NBC-owned station in Hartford, Conn.

Piacente, who most recently has been manager of news and content development at WMAQ-Channel 5, held a variety of roles in his 15 years at the NBC-owned station here, including executive producer of news and special projects. He previously worked as a producer at ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 and Tribune Broadcasting WGN-Channel 9 and CLTV.

His promotion, effective Feb. 10, was announced to staffers at NBC 5 Monday. No word yet on his replacement.

“Matt’s robust experience overseeing breaking news, investigative reports, election coverage and severe weather make him a perfect fit to lead the NBC Connecticut news team,” Ric Harris, president and general manager of WVIT, said in a statement announcing Piacente’s appointment. “Our viewers look to us to be Connecticut’s first and best choice for local news across all platforms and we are confident that Matt’s vision and leadership will provide viewers exactly what they are looking for from NBC Connecticut.”

A Chicago native and a graduate of the University of Missouri, Piacente, 43, previously was married to Robin Baumgarten, morning news anchor at WGN.