Manuel Abud

Manuel Abud (born 1966) is a Mexican and American business and entertainment executive. He is currently CEO of The Latin Recording Academy. Abud was born in Mexico City and earned an MBA in 1991. He has held leadership roles in media and entertainment companies serving Spanish-speaking and multicultural audiences in the United States and Latin America.

Early life and education Abud was born in Mexico City. He received a bachelor's degree in accounting from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in 1986 and an MBA from Houston Baptist University in Texas in 1991.

Career

1997–1999: Early career: Televisa and CBS Telenoticias Abud began his career at Grupo Televisa, where he served as director of investor relations and was involved in the company's initial public offering and listing on the New York Stock Exchange. He later became the chief financial officer of Grupo Medcom, overseeing more than 50 corporations and the operations of a television station in Guadalajara.

2000–2012: NBCUniversal and Telemundo Abud joined NBCUniversal in 2000 and held several executive positions over 14 years. He was president of Telemundo Cable, overseeing networks like Telemundo Internacional. Abud served as general manager of television stations KVEA and KWHY in Los Angeles and KXTX-TV in Dallas. In 2001, he founded the bilingual cable network Mun2 (now NBC Universo), targeting young Hispanic audiences. In 2012, Abud was named president of the Telemundo Station Group, where he was credited with increasing local news programming and community engagement initiatives.

2012–2017: Azteca América Abud was appointed president and CEO of Azteca América in March 2014. During his tenure, he reorganized the network, expanded its programming to include more soccer and original productions, and oversaw the creation of a digital content studio, Azteca GlassWorks. In November 2017, he led the network's acquisition by HC2 Holdings, Inc.

2019–present: The Latin Recording Academy Abud joined to the Latin Recording Academy as its COO in 2019. He has stated that his goal is to ensure the academy is an inclusive and representative institution for the Latin music community. He has previously served on the boards of the Texas Association of Broadcasters, Junior Achievement of Dallas, the YWCA Foundation of Fort Worth, and the Ronald McDonald House of Southern California.

Personal life Abud resides in Miami, Florida.