New Boss At TelevisaUnivision: Daniel Alegre Named CEO As Wade Davis Exits

In a surprise and swift leadership shakeup, TelevisaUnivision has a new executive at the helm. Former Activision Blizzard President and COO Daniel Alegre takes over as CEO of the company effective today, September 19. He succeeds Wade Davis, a former Viacom CFO and founder of investment group ForgeLight, who spearheaded the acquisition of Univision in 2020 and later orchestrated its $4.8 billion merger with Televisa, which closed in 2022.

TelevisaUnivision confirmed Davis's departure from the top job late Wednesday, hours after The New York Times reported the company's plans, citing inside sources who shared details of discussions about his removal and replacement after missed internal financial targets and limited profit growth since the merger.

The company press release described the management change as "the Board of Directors' long-term succession planning process," and that Davis will transition to Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and continue serving on its Executive Committee.

During his tenure, Davis heavily focused on building and strengthening the company's streaming profile. First, with the launch of PrendeTV, and later, with ViX, a venture fortified after the merger. He also brought in top executive talent to bolster these efforts, including Pierluigi Gazzolo, who previously led ViacomCBS Networks International's streaming and studios, and ex-Netflix exec Rodrigo Mazón, who exited TelevisaUnivision in July.

TelevisaUnivision Executive Chairman Alfonso de Angoitia credited Davis for the “turnaround of Univision and the subsequent transformative merger between Univision and Televisa’s content business to create TelevisaUnivision” and praised Alegre’s “global operational experience working in the U.S., Mexico and Latin America across technology, digital platforms and entertainment," which he believes will be key to the company's next phase of growth.

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In the company's release, Davis contradicted what sources told the New York Times about financials: “Thanks to the efforts of our exceptional team, TelevisaUnivision has consistently delivered above-market revenue growth, outperformed the U.S. and Mexican advertising markets." He also pointed to growth in the company's "direct-to-consumer business, ViX, to become the largest dedicated Spanish-language streaming service in the world," and welcomed his successor. "We could not have picked a better successor than Daniel, who brings an incredible track record of operational and strategic execution."

A seasoned media executive with extensive global experience, Alegre was most recently CEO of Yuga Labs, a web3 company. In addition to his previous role as President and COO of Activision Blizzard, where he oversaw the company’s international operations and video game franchises, he also spent 16 years at Google, holding top executive positions in global partnerships, shopping, payments, and regional leadership across Asia and Latin America.

This leadership change comes days after another major TelevisaUnivision announcement. Jorge Ramos, the longest U.S. network news anchor, will leave Univision after 40 years with the company. Ramos, who has anchored Noticiero Univision for 38 years, and the company could not come to terms on a new contract.

Ramos will continue co-anchoring Noticiero Univision until December, following the conclusion of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. TelevisaUnivision has yet to announce who will succeed Ramos in the anchor role.