(CNN) CBS News producer and talent executive Maria Mercader died of Covid-19 in New York Sunday, CBS said. She was 54.

Mercader worked at CBS for three decades, getting her start in the network's page program, CBS said in a release. She most recently worked as a director of talent strategy.

She had been on medical leave for an unrelated matter since late February, the network said.

Mercader "courageously fought cancer and related illnesses for 20 years, enduring numerous treatments and surgeries," CBS said. "To her colleagues and family, she was an inspiration and a symbol of hope each time she returned to work after the latest medical setback threatened to end her life."

As a producer on CBS News' foreign and national desks, Mercader helped produce coverage of "some of the biggest breaking news," including the death of Princess Diana and the 9/11 attacks, the release said.