Leila Cobo is a vice president and the Latin industry lead at Billboard. She’s the organizer and host of Billboard’s annual Latin Music Conference, and was host of Estudio Billboard, a weekly interview show. Before joining Billboard, she wrote for the Los Angeles Times and the Miami Herald. Cobo was a concert pianist before devoting herself to full-time journalism.

She has written several novels and non-fiction books, including Jenni Rivera: The Incredible Story of a Warrior Butterfly (2013), a biography of the regional Mexican music star. Decoding Despacito: An Oral History of Latin Music’s Greatest Hits was published in 2021.

Areas of Expertise: Latin music, classical music, pop culture, piano, entertainment and TV, Colombia

Location: Miami, Fla.

Email: contact@leilacobo.com, leila.cobo@billboard.com, leilacobo1@gmail.com

Twitter: @leilacobo

Heard on NPR: Tell Me More: Calle 13 Sweeps Latin Grammy Nominations