Univision Bolsters Entertainment Leadership Team

MIAMI/LOS ANGELES: Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) has appointed Lourdes Diaz as president of entertainment and Adrian Santucho as executive VP of Univision Studios.

As of November 1, Diaz will be working out of Los Angeles under Isaac Lee, chief news, entertainment and digital officer. She will be charged with identifying and executing on strategic acquisitions and developing new content formats. Diaz most recently worked in global production and development at Comedy Central International. Earlier in her career, she served as the network and studio exec on a number of hit series for NBC and Universal Media Studios. She also founded Agua Entertainment Group.

Santucho will be based in Miami and will report to Diaz. His duties will include managing Univision Studios productions and collaborating with Televisa on production-related initiatives. Santucho most recently served as CEO of FremantleMedia Latino America, where he oversaw the production of such series as La Banda, Sí Se Puede, 100 Latinos Dijeron and México Tiene Talento. Before that, he spent more than ten years with Endemol, where he held a variety of senior production and development positions.

“With over 20 years of experience, Lourdes has a proven track record of curating fresh and exciting new programming that attracts diverse audiences,” said Lee. “At the same time, Adrian’s extensive experience in development, direction and production will be extremely valuable as we look to further strengthen our in-house production capabilities and develop new multi-genre content and original productions through Univision Studios. Together, the two have deep industry insights and are the ideal executives for these critical roles. We’re pleased to have Lourdes and Adrian as part of the team.”

“Univision’s ability to deliver unprecedented content to its evolving consumer base is what makes this company a multimedia industry leader and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join the Univision organization,” noted Diaz. “I’m committed to bolstering UCI’s position as an innovator in entertainment and to further building upon the extensive suite of Univision’s multicultural offerings.”

“I am honored to have the opportunity to join one of the nation’s leading media companies,” added Santucho. “Univision has a tremendous opportunity to build on both its own compelling original content and its strategic relationship with Televisa. I am looking forward to leveraging my past experiences to ensure Univision continues to deliver the best variety of telenovelas, reality shows, dramatic series and entertainment specials across all of its platforms.”