Former Azteca América and Telemundo executive Manuel Abud is leaving the television industry. He joins the Latin Recording Academy in the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer, reporting to president and CEO Gabriel Abaroa Jr.
Prior to getting named COO, he had been doing consulting work for the Academy for the past seven months. He officially starts the new position in a full-time capacity today.
Abud, who was president and CEO of Azteca América since 2014, quietly exited the company in May, transitioning into a consulting capacity until recently.
In his new role as COO, he will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Latin Academy, including the areas of business development, production, communications, marketing, and digital. He’ll also spearhead international and local growth initiatives as the organization celebrates its 20th anniversary and makes plans for the next decade.
As CEO of Azteca América, Abud negotiated the sale of the U.S. network to HC2 Holdings in November 2017.
He previously held top leadership positions at NBC Universal where he spent more than 14 years as president of the Telemundo Station Group, TV station president and GM in Los Angeles and Dallas, and president of Telemundo Cable.
Before that, he was president of CBS Telenoticias. Earlier in his career, Abud worked for Televisa, Medcom, and ICA.
The Latin Academy also named 19-year Latin GRAMMY® veteran Luis Dousdebes, most recently its CFO, to the new position of Chief Awards, Membership and Preservation Officer and Aida Scorza, who has served both the Recording Academy™ and The Latin Recording Academy for more than 30 years, has been promoted to SVP of Awards.