Univision has hired two new executives and has promoted two others from within the company, expanding its Distribution Sales and Marketing team based in New York. Univision says the objective of this expansion is “to position the company as a game-changing media powerhouse with a forward-looking distribution strategy.” The appointments are effective immediately.
The two new hires are:
Rob Thun -named Executive Vice President of Business Operations. He joins Univision from AT&T where he was Sr VP of Content for AT&T’s U-verse TV service. In that role, he oversaw television video content strategy and acquisition for the major multichannel network groups and for local, international, Spanish and independent/emerging networks. Prior to AT&T, he was VP of National Accounts, Sales Strategy and Business Development at Fox Cable Networks.
Renee Plato – named Senior Vice President of Digital Distribution. She comes to Univision from ABC, Disney and ESPN Media Networks where she was Vice President of Digital Distribution, in charge of the company’s growing multi-platform distribution efforts. Before joining The Walt Disney Company, she held positions within Sony’s Global Digital Distribution Group and at Universal Music Group in Toronto, Canada.
Thun and Plato will be based in New York and report to Tonia O’Connor, President of Distribution Sales and Marketing.
Internal promotions:
Sarah Madigan – promoted to Senior Vice President of Business Affairs. In her new role, she’ll be executing Univision’s TV Everywhere efforts, securing broad distribution for digital assets, including UVideos, on all platforms and launching new, genre-specific broadband channels. She was most recently Vice President of Business Affairs for Univision’s Distribution Sales and Marketing team. Prior to Univision, she was VP of Distribution Business and Legal Affairs at BBC Worldwide America. She’ll report to Thun.
Carlos Alimurung – named Vice President of Digital Distribution. He was most recently working in the Office of the CEO at Univision, where he led the establishment of Univision’s windowing strategy and evaluated and prioritized opportunities to exploit the company’s extensive content library. Before joining Univision, Alimurung was head of Home Entertainment Strategy for LG Electronics. He will report to Plato.
Univision’s Distribution Sales and Marketing team is responsible for the distribution of all the company’s digital services including its UVideos Digital Network, announced at Univision’s upfront presentation in May, genre-specific broadband channels, and the expansion of the company’s content portfolio across all platforms in partnerships with its existing and new distributors. These include recent deals with Hulu, DISH Network, AT&T and Verizon.