Former aviation executive Emilio Romano has been named the new president of NBCU's Telemundo, the company announced Wednesday.
Romano, the former CEO of Grupo Mexicana de Aviacion, replaces Don Browne, who stepped down in April after more than 30 years with Telemundo. He was one of several executives to leave NBCU after its acquisition by Comcast.
As president, Romano will lead the Telemundo broadcast network and its 14 owned stations, including the Entertainment Division and Telemundo Studios. He will also oversee the News and Sports divisions, Telemundo International, Telemundo’s Digital Media group, and the network’s sales and marketing units, as well as mun2, the lifestyle network for young bicultural Latinos.
"Emilio is the ideal executive to lead Telemundo as we continue to build on our record breaking performances this year," said Lauren Zalaznick, Chairman NBCUniversal Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media, to whom he will report. "His 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."
Added Romano: "I am honored to be joining this superb team of professionals at Telemundo and NBCUniversal and to be part of the transformation taking place within the US Hispanic media market."
In the late 1990s, Romano was GrupoTelevisa’s director of Mergers and Acquisitions and later vice president of International Operations, overseeing more than 500 global employees.
From 1995 to 1998, he was a member of the Board of Directors for Univision Communications and directed several high profile transactions including the Sky Latin America joint venture with Corporation, OrganizaçõesGlobo and TCI; the sale of PanAmSat to Hughes Electronics, and the formation of the Via Digital DTH venture for the Iberian Peninsula. He was also responsible for Televisa’s operations outside Mexico, including record label Fonovisa and the worldwide programming distribution arm Protele.
He also co-managed Cablevisión, the largest cable network in Mexico.
In 2001, he co-founded Border Group, LLC and served as an advisor to several entertainment and media companies.
He was CEO for Grupo Mexicana de Aviacion from 2004 to 2007 and led the airline’s largest financial restructuring in its 87-year history. He also organized the launch of the first low-cost carrier in Mexico, Click Mexicana, and engineered the sale of Mexicana to a Mexican investor group.
Early in his career he held several positions within the Mexican Ministry of Finance.
The Mexico City native now lives in Miami with his wife and two daughters.
