Univision has unveiled a massive overhaul of its corporate ranks as well as the leadership of its entertainment, news and sports divisions.
The moves come more than a year after the Spanish-language media giant was acquired by investment firms SearchLight Capital Partners and ForgeLight LLC, and three months after Univision and Televisa set an agreement to merge most of their TV and entertainment assets.
Luis Silberwasser, the Telemundo alum who joined Univision in January, is overseeing entertainment, news and sports as president of Univision Television Networks Group.
“The new structure marks another significant step forward in Univision’s transformation strategy and will further accelerate the ability of these divisions to optimize their offerings and provide the best portfolio of networks and content,” Silberwasser. “As we continue our transformation to become the world’s most important Spanish-language, multi-platform media company, we recognize that supporting our platforms with the best talent and structure is the key to unlocking innovative ideas and achieving superior results.”
Longtime Univision executive Jessica Rodriguez has moved from heading entertainment to serving as chief brand and impact officer. She will steer Univision’s creative strategy and branding, talent strategy and insights, research and social impact, equity and inclusion. Programming oversight is split between Ignacio Meyer, executive VP of music and non-scripted programming, and Leonor Sotillo has signed on as senior VP of scripted strategy.
In the news division, former Televisa news chief Leopoldo Gomez has succeeded Daniel Coronell as president. Gomez will relocate to the U.S. from Mexico. Jorge Ramos, Univision’s longtime primary anchor, is taking on additional duties as special editorial advisor to the CEO, Wade Davis, who is founder of ForgeLight and drove the acquisition in 2020.
In sports, Juan Carlos Rodriguez has been upped to president of global sports enterprises. Olek Loewenstein has advanced to president of sports content.
“The new structure of our Entertainment, Sports and News divisions is critical to driving our business forward and expanding what we can offer to audiences globally,” Davis said. “As demonstrated by this and other recent announcements, we are building the industry’s best team across all of our platforms to help fulfill our incredible potential. One of our key principles during this transformation is to ensure that the best talent, ideas and business processes come together to drive success and achieve our ambitious goals.”
(Pictured: Jessica Rodriguez)