TelevisaUnivision CFO Carlos Ferreiro is stepping down from his role for health reasons, the Spanish-language media company disclosed Wednesday.
Current TelevisaUnivision Mexico Chief Growth Officer Juan Pablo Newman Aguilar is taking over as interim CFO, effective September 1. Ferreiro will stay on in an advisory role to help with the transition.
Ferreiro is a seasoned finance chief executive and had been CFO at the media company since October 2021, previously holding various leadership positions at Grupo Televisa for over two decades.
His work at the company includes overseeing the company’s global finance organization, and leadership during the $4.8 billion Univision acquisition of Televisa, which was first announced in April 2021 and closed in early 2022. Following the combination, Ferreiro has served as the first CFO of what is now the massive combined TelevisaUnivision.
“On behalf of the board of directors, the entire management team and the stockholders of the Company, I want to thank Carlos for his immeasurable commitment, counsel, contributions, and leadership over the years, especially during the complex TelevisaUnivision transaction in 2021 that made us the definitive global leader in Spanish-language media,” said Alfonso de Angoitia, executive chairman of TelevisaUnivision, in a statement.
Ferreiro in a statement said, “It has been the highlight of my career to have served as the first CFO of TelevisaUnivision as we have accomplished so much and built a world-class organization that is equipped to compete in the global media landscape.”
Since forming TelevisaUnivision carved out streaming ambitions that also include leveraging linear assets. Its streaming efforts include the Spanish-language streaming service ViX that launched in 2022 and now offers a free ad-supported version as well as paid subscriptions with an ads tier and premium ad-free plan. As of the end of June, ViX had more than 50 million global monthly active users on the free tier. In the second quarter of 2024, TelevisaUnivision reported $1.25 billion in total revenue, up 3% year over year as the company saw growth in both Mexico and the U.S. and improved declines in Adjusted OBIDA (down 3% yoy in Q2 to $362 million) over Q1. Earlier this year executives said the company was on track for streaming profitability in the second half of 2024.
TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis in a statement thanked Ferreiro for invaluable “leadership, expertise and commitment” during the formative years of the combined company.
“We are grateful to him for his many contributions that have helped propel the company to where we are today,” he commented.
As for the incoming interim CFO, Davis expressed confidence in Newman Aguilar.
“Juan Pablo has extensive experience as a CFO managing and scaling financial operations in both the private and public sectors spanning a highly successful 20-year career prior to TelevisaUnivision,” Davis stated. “Currently, he is already deeply integrated into our global business operations, and I am confident that his knowledge of our business and skillsets will allow him to hit the ground running and effect a seamless transition.”
In his current role at TelevisaUnivision Mexico, Newman Aguilar oversees domestic ad sales, marketing and commercial operations of national and local free-to-air TV, pay TV, digital O&O and streaming in the country.
TelevisaUnivison’s Mexico unit marked 8% yoy total revenue growth to reach $458 million in Q2. That was driven by double-digit percentage growth in advertising, which reached $322 million for Mexico in the period, up 13% yoy.
Prior to joining the media company, he was CEO of Afore XXI-Banorte, the largest pension fund in Latin America. Before that Newman Aguilar was head of Public Credit Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) of Mexico, overseeing internal and external debt. His earlier roles include serving as finance chief of Mexico’s state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos and as chief investment officer and treasury of Nacional Financiera (NAFIN), which is Mexico’s biggest development bank.