Azteca América has beefed up its executive team by adding longtime Hispanic television exec Manuel Abud as president and CEO.
Abud (pictured), who assumed his new duties on March 3, will have direct oversight of the Azteca América broadcast network and its newly created Station Group, which includes 25 owned-and-operated stations. He succeeds Martin Breidsprecher, who takes on the newly created role of chief operating officer of Azteca América.
“Manuel is the ideal executive to lead Azteca America,” Gustavo Guzman, senior ranking member of the TV Azteca executive committee and one of the Mexico City-based company’s founders, said. “ I’m confident that the experience and track record of Manuel and his new team will be a determining factor for the expansion of our network going forward.”
Abud previously spent 13 years at Telemundo, most recently as president of Telemundo Station Group. He was elevated to the role in 2012 after serving as president and GM of KXTX, Telemundo’s O&O station in Dallas. He exited Telemundo in November 2013, replaced by Manuel Martinez.
Concurrently, Court Stroud — who served as executive vice president and general sales manager of Azteca América from 2002-2007 — has returned to the network as executive vice president, network sales. Stroud spent the last year at content production platform Skyword, as director of media and Latin America/U.S. Hispanic partnerships. From February 2012 to January 2013, he served as Vme’s managing director of sponsorship sales and corporate underwriting.
And Enrique Pérez will step down as senior vice president, sales and marketing at Telemundo to become executive vice president of Azteca América’s Station Group, a new post. Pérez had an 11-year run at Telemundo, and has also serviced as vice president/general manager, Latin America at MTV Networks and as VP, network and national sales for the now-defunct Spanish news/talk radio network Radio Unica.
“We’re proud to present some new and familiar faces to our leadership team, and we look forward to forging a new path for Azteca America that will harness the production strength of Azteca, together with local and third-party productions, as we move forward with the network management of stations across the country,” Guzman said.
