Emilio Romano has resigned as president of NBCUniversal-owned Telemundo Media, and NBCU intends to search for a replacement immediately, Multichannel News has learned.
In an internal memo to NBCU and Telemundo employees, Joe Uva, NBCU's chairman, Hispanic Enterprises and Content, wrote that "after a successful two years, Emilio Romano has decided to leave the company."
According to the memo, NBCU will begin a search for his replacement "immediately," and until a new leader has been found, Uva says he will spend more time in Hialeah, which is where Telemundo Media is based and where Romano informed staff members today of his decision. The unit includes the Spanish-language broadcast network Telemundo, production studio, the cable network mun2 and digital properties.
Romano, who was hired in October 2011, came to the Spanish-language media company after spending years in the media, aviation and Internet industries. In the 1990s he had also spent time in Grupo Televisa, where he was director of mergers and acquisitions and later vp of international operations.
Uva said in his memo: "I want to personally thank Emilio for his contributions to Telemundo Media. His focus on positioning Telemundo to take share from Univision, and mun2 to better resonate with the rapidly growing millennial population has established a foundation for growth. As a result, he has been instrumental in elevating the perception of Telemundo in the marketplace. Most recently, he has been a good partner to me.”
Romano's leaving comes shortly after the departure of NBCU veteran Lauren Zalaznick, who was behind Romano's appointment at Telemundo after the departure of long-time President Don Browne. NBCU also made another big executive move last month by appointing former Univision Networks president César Conde as executive vice president (a newly created position). A Telemundo insider, though, said Romano's departure is unrelated to the Conde hire. "Joe [Uva] obviously is running Hispanic, and this is going to be his gig now," the Telemundo official said.
Romano was not immediately available for comment.
