News
Augusto Delkáder named president of PRISA/Radio. Javier Pons appointed new CEO
20-10-2010
Augusto Delkáder has been named president of both Unión Radio, the radio division of Grupo PRISA, and the Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión (SER), replacing Ignacio Polanco. Delkáder was until now CEO of both companies, a position that will be assumed by Javier Pons, who joined the company in March this year as Deputy Managing Director. These moves are part of a major restructuring of the boards of the subsidiary companies of PRISA, as the holding company embarks on a new phase of growth and adopts a new governance model, which will see greater degree of commitment and exclusivity by the members of corporate bodies.
Ignacio Santillana, CEO of PRISA, and Iñaki Gabilondo have been appointed directors of SER and Unión Radio. Also joining Unión Radio, on behalf of PRISA, is Ricardo Alarcón, general manager for the company's South America operations. Javier and Carlos Godó remain members of the Board representing the Godo group, while Maite Ballester will be representing the fund 3i. Finally, two new members will be joining the Board with extensive professional backgrounds in the multi-media, leisure and entertainment industries: Alejandro Zubillaga and James Lillie.
PRISA's president, Ignacio Polanco said that his decision to leave his post at the helm of Unión Radio's board is in line with corporate operations aimed at enhancing PRISA's status as a listed multinational company with a clear institutionalization in the markets.
The President of the Executive Committee of the Board of PRISA, and CEO, Juan Luis Cebrián, said, that with these latest additions, the group would be better placed for further expansion and that a period of profound transformation could now get underway. He also announced that similar such measures would be carried out across other subsidiaries in the future.
Augusto Delkáder, the new president of Unión Radio, said that thanks to these changes "we will be more operational and efficient as we face the challenges of the new digital environment, and we will be able to boost our growth and expansion in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking markets. "
The new CEO, Javier Pons, added: "Unión Radio has the resources and talent to develop the most ambitious radio broadcasting project at a global level and to become the leading creator of multi-format products in all those markets in which we operate. "
Unión Radio
Unión Radio is the business unit that groups together all the radio broadcasting and music activities of PRISA, and is the market leader in Spain and Latin America. In 2009 it had a turnover of EUR 377 million and EBITDA of 103 million. It operates in ten countries (Spain, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Costa Rica, USA, Ecuador and Guatemala), has over 26 million listeners daily, 30 spoken-word and music radio formats, 43 web portals enjoying over 16 million unique users, and a staff of more than three thousand people between Spain and Latin America.
In addition to its radio content, it has successfully created leading global brands (40 Móvil, El Musical, Tarjeta 40, 40 Viajes, etc...) and has two music television channels (40 TV and 40 Latino) It operates the leading music management company in Spain (RLM) and the leading music production company, Planet Events.
Augusto Delkáder Teig studied law and journalism and continued his studies in the UK and the U.S. He began his career at the newspaper Diario de Cádiz where he was deputy editor and editor-in-chief, and he also worked for the newspaper Informaciones. He was a founding member of the newspaper El País where he held various positions, including that of deputy director for ten years. He later went to work at Spain's leading radio network Cadena SER when El País became a majority shareholder. After heading the company's news services, he was appointed director of Cadena SER, a post he held until 1991 when he was appointed director general of the company. In December 1998 he was appointed CEO of Cadena SER and Unión Radio, and was responsible for the modernization and strengthening of the radio group's undisputed lead in Spain and for transforming it into a leading player in Latin America. He is chairman of the Social Council of the University of Cadiz, president of the Spanish Commercial Radio Association (AERC) and he has been honored with the Gold Medal of Andalusia and has been given the freedom of the city of Cadiz.
Javier Pons Tubio studied journalism and has spent much of his career at Cadena SER. He directed a number of programs at Radio Reus before holding a wide number of posts at other stations in Catalonia (Lleida and Radio Barcelona) until he was appointed director and then director general of M40 (a French radio station operated by PRISA). On his return to Spain he became director of M80 and Cadena 40 Principales.
In 2000 he left the radio group to head the TV production company "El Terrat" until he was appointed director of TVE, where he was responsible for the modernization and successful lead of Spain's state television broadcaster. Since February of this year he was deputy CEO of Unión Radio.
Iñaki Santillana is COO of PRISA. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where he works as a professor, and he holds a Masters in Economics from Indiana University (USA). Before holding his current position he worked as an economic advisor for the Spanish Association of Private Banking and was president of ENISA. For over ten years he held top-level positions in Telefónica, where he was CFO, president and chief executive of Telefónica Internacional, a position from which he drove the expansion of the telephone operator in Latin America. Subsequently he was Senior Vice President at the U.S. telecommunications firm GTE. Alongside his current responsibilities at PRISA, he is active in a number of other academic and professional activities, including belonging to the board of the Banco Gallego and president of Nokia Spain.
Iñaki Gabilondo is the most influential and prestigious communicator in Spanish society. He began his career at Radio Popular in San Sebastian (COPE) before joining SER where he has developed a successful broadcasting career, first as director (Radio San Sebastián and Radio Sevilla) and then as director of 'Hora 25'. After working as TVE's news director, he took over as director and presenter of the magazine program 'Hoy por Hoy', which became the undisputed leader in Spanish radio. Four years ago he joined the group Sogecable where he launched the main news program of the TV channel Cuatro. He currently directs the CNN+ prime-time news program 'Hoy'. Gabilondo has received numerous awards and prizes, including the Ortega y Gasset Prize for Journalism, six Premios Ondas awards, the Francisco Cerecedo and the Víctor de la Serna prizes, the Cross of Saint George and the Gold Medals of Andalusia, Guipúzcoa and Labor Merit. In 2007 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid.
Alejandro Zubillaga has a degree in Business Administration from Babson College. From 1995 to 2000 he was the founder and director of Net Uno, a cable television operator in Venezuela. After this success, he co-founded Lexa Partners. In 2003 Lexa Partners oversaw the purchase of WMG from Time Warner. Prior to working at Rhone Group as Senior Advisor, Alejandro was Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy and Business Development of Warner Music Group, where he was responsible for the development and monitoring of WMG's Global Digital Business. Through a series of groundbreaking partnerships he succeeded in positioning Warner Music Group as the clear leader in the digital sector. He is currently Senior Advisor to the Rhone Group. He was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
James E. Lillie. James holds a degree from the University of Wisconsin (USA), and is president and Chief Operating Officer of Jarden Corporation. He has wide experience in the direction of multinational companies and his company is market leader in the provision of consumer products, with over 150 brands in more than one hundred countries. He joined the company in 2003 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed President a year later. Mr. Lillie served as Executive Vice President of Operations at Moore Corporation and as Executive Vice President of Operations at Walter Industries, Inc. He had previously held a succession of senior-level management positions across a variety of disciplines at World Color, Inc.
Ricardo Alarcón holds a degree in Engineering and Senior Management from the Universidad de los Andes. He has spent much of his career at Caracol Radio (Colombia), a leading player in the audiovisual industry in Latin America. After holding various management positions at the Caracol group, he was appointed president of Caracol Radio and Caracol Televisión. He was subsequently named director general of Grupo Ecuavisa in Equador and later president of the Colombian television producer TVI. Alarcón has been an executive at numerous companies operating in the media and other industries, both within and outside Colombia. He is currently CEO of the Caracol Radio group, which belongs to Unión Radio.
Ignacio Santillana, CEO of PRISA, and Iñaki Gabilondo have been appointed directors of SER and Unión Radio. Also joining Unión Radio, on behalf of PRISA, is Ricardo Alarcón, general manager for the company's South America operations. Javier and Carlos Godó remain members of the Board representing the Godo group, while Maite Ballester will be representing the fund 3i. Finally, two new members will be joining the Board with extensive professional backgrounds in the multi-media, leisure and entertainment industries: Alejandro Zubillaga and James Lillie.
PRISA's president, Ignacio Polanco said that his decision to leave his post at the helm of Unión Radio's board is in line with corporate operations aimed at enhancing PRISA's status as a listed multinational company with a clear institutionalization in the markets.
The President of the Executive Committee of the Board of PRISA, and CEO, Juan Luis Cebrián, said, that with these latest additions, the group would be better placed for further expansion and that a period of profound transformation could now get underway. He also announced that similar such measures would be carried out across other subsidiaries in the future.
Augusto Delkáder, the new president of Unión Radio, said that thanks to these changes "we will be more operational and efficient as we face the challenges of the new digital environment, and we will be able to boost our growth and expansion in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking markets. "
The new CEO, Javier Pons, added: "Unión Radio has the resources and talent to develop the most ambitious radio broadcasting project at a global level and to become the leading creator of multi-format products in all those markets in which we operate. "
Unión Radio
Unión Radio is the business unit that groups together all the radio broadcasting and music activities of PRISA, and is the market leader in Spain and Latin America. In 2009 it had a turnover of EUR 377 million and EBITDA of 103 million. It operates in ten countries (Spain, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Costa Rica, USA, Ecuador and Guatemala), has over 26 million listeners daily, 30 spoken-word and music radio formats, 43 web portals enjoying over 16 million unique users, and a staff of more than three thousand people between Spain and Latin America.
In addition to its radio content, it has successfully created leading global brands (40 Móvil, El Musical, Tarjeta 40, 40 Viajes, etc...) and has two music television channels (40 TV and 40 Latino) It operates the leading music management company in Spain (RLM) and the leading music production company, Planet Events.
Augusto Delkáder Teig studied law and journalism and continued his studies in the UK and the U.S. He began his career at the newspaper Diario de Cádiz where he was deputy editor and editor-in-chief, and he also worked for the newspaper Informaciones. He was a founding member of the newspaper El País where he held various positions, including that of deputy director for ten years. He later went to work at Spain's leading radio network Cadena SER when El País became a majority shareholder. After heading the company's news services, he was appointed director of Cadena SER, a post he held until 1991 when he was appointed director general of the company. In December 1998 he was appointed CEO of Cadena SER and Unión Radio, and was responsible for the modernization and strengthening of the radio group's undisputed lead in Spain and for transforming it into a leading player in Latin America. He is chairman of the Social Council of the University of Cadiz, president of the Spanish Commercial Radio Association (AERC) and he has been honored with the Gold Medal of Andalusia and has been given the freedom of the city of Cadiz.
Javier Pons Tubio studied journalism and has spent much of his career at Cadena SER. He directed a number of programs at Radio Reus before holding a wide number of posts at other stations in Catalonia (Lleida and Radio Barcelona) until he was appointed director and then director general of M40 (a French radio station operated by PRISA). On his return to Spain he became director of M80 and Cadena 40 Principales.
In 2000 he left the radio group to head the TV production company "El Terrat" until he was appointed director of TVE, where he was responsible for the modernization and successful lead of Spain's state television broadcaster. Since February of this year he was deputy CEO of Unión Radio.
Iñaki Santillana is COO of PRISA. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where he works as a professor, and he holds a Masters in Economics from Indiana University (USA). Before holding his current position he worked as an economic advisor for the Spanish Association of Private Banking and was president of ENISA. For over ten years he held top-level positions in Telefónica, where he was CFO, president and chief executive of Telefónica Internacional, a position from which he drove the expansion of the telephone operator in Latin America. Subsequently he was Senior Vice President at the U.S. telecommunications firm GTE. Alongside his current responsibilities at PRISA, he is active in a number of other academic and professional activities, including belonging to the board of the Banco Gallego and president of Nokia Spain.
Iñaki Gabilondo is the most influential and prestigious communicator in Spanish society. He began his career at Radio Popular in San Sebastian (COPE) before joining SER where he has developed a successful broadcasting career, first as director (Radio San Sebastián and Radio Sevilla) and then as director of 'Hora 25'. After working as TVE's news director, he took over as director and presenter of the magazine program 'Hoy por Hoy', which became the undisputed leader in Spanish radio. Four years ago he joined the group Sogecable where he launched the main news program of the TV channel Cuatro. He currently directs the CNN+ prime-time news program 'Hoy'. Gabilondo has received numerous awards and prizes, including the Ortega y Gasset Prize for Journalism, six Premios Ondas awards, the Francisco Cerecedo and the Víctor de la Serna prizes, the Cross of Saint George and the Gold Medals of Andalusia, Guipúzcoa and Labor Merit. In 2007 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid.
Alejandro Zubillaga has a degree in Business Administration from Babson College. From 1995 to 2000 he was the founder and director of Net Uno, a cable television operator in Venezuela. After this success, he co-founded Lexa Partners. In 2003 Lexa Partners oversaw the purchase of WMG from Time Warner. Prior to working at Rhone Group as Senior Advisor, Alejandro was Executive Vice President of Digital Strategy and Business Development of Warner Music Group, where he was responsible for the development and monitoring of WMG's Global Digital Business. Through a series of groundbreaking partnerships he succeeded in positioning Warner Music Group as the clear leader in the digital sector. He is currently Senior Advisor to the Rhone Group. He was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
James E. Lillie. James holds a degree from the University of Wisconsin (USA), and is president and Chief Operating Officer of Jarden Corporation. He has wide experience in the direction of multinational companies and his company is market leader in the provision of consumer products, with over 150 brands in more than one hundred countries. He joined the company in 2003 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed President a year later. Mr. Lillie served as Executive Vice President of Operations at Moore Corporation and as Executive Vice President of Operations at Walter Industries, Inc. He had previously held a succession of senior-level management positions across a variety of disciplines at World Color, Inc.
Ricardo Alarcón holds a degree in Engineering and Senior Management from the Universidad de los Andes. He has spent much of his career at Caracol Radio (Colombia), a leading player in the audiovisual industry in Latin America. After holding various management positions at the Caracol group, he was appointed president of Caracol Radio and Caracol Televisión. He was subsequently named director general of Grupo Ecuavisa in Equador and later president of the Colombian television producer TVI. Alarcón has been an executive at numerous companies operating in the media and other industries, both within and outside Colombia. He is currently CEO of the Caracol Radio group, which belongs to Unión Radio.
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