Emilio Romano, the former chief executive for Grupo Mexicana de Aviación, the Mexican airline carrier, has been named president of Telemundo, the Spanish language network division of NBCUniversal.
Juan Manuel Garcia/TelemundoEmilio Romano
Mr. Romano will succeed Don Browne, the network’s former president, who resigned in April.
Mr. Romano will begin his position in October, the company announced on Wednesday. He will lead the network, the 14 stations it owns, the news and sports divisions, Telemundo International, the company’s digital media group and its sales and marketing units.
Before working at Grupo Mexicana, Mr. Romano was an executive at GrupoTelevisa and served on the board of Univision, the largest competitor of Telemundo.
Mr. Romano also has served as an adviser to entertainment and media companies. He is on the board of Tam Linhas Aereas and is the president of International Air Transport Association’s International Airline Training Fund Council.
In a statement, Lauren Zalaznick, the chairman of entertainment and digital networks and integrated media at NBCUniversal, said: “Emilio is the ideal executive to lead Telemundo as we continue to build on our record-breaking performances this year.”
The network had strong sales during this year’s upfront week, when commercial time is sold before the television season begins. AdWeek reported a 20 percent increase in Telemundo’s upfront sales from last year, to around $400 million.
In a statement, Mr. Romano cited the growing numbers of Hispanics in the United States as part of the reason. “As reflected in the latest U.S. Census and the dramatic increase in both viewership and advertising within the Hispanic community these past few years, this exciting market is well poised for explosive growth,” Mr. Romano said.
“Telemundo has found in NBCUniversal and Comcast the ideal partners to leverage this growth and continue to build a world-class media company that will inform, educate, inspire and entertain Hispanic viewers in the U.S. and audiences around the world,” he added.
Comcast took control of NBC Universal in January.
Ms. Zalaznick added that Mr. Romano’s “extensive knowledge of Hispanic media combined with a proven track record running large-scale businesses will be a great addition to the Telemundo management team. We will benefit greatly from his expertise across multiple media platforms — particularly in the Mexican market — as we continue to broaden Telemundo’s overall appeal in the vibrant and diverse Hispanic community.”
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