Cancela new President & GM at Telemundo / KVEA-TV in LA.

Telemundo announced today that Jose Cancela has been named President and General Manager of KVEA-Los Angeles. The announcement was made by Ronald J. Gordon, president of Telemundo Station Group.

“We are excited to welcome Jose back to Telemundo,” said Gordon. “His leadership skills, extensive broadcasting and operational experience, as well as his deep knowledge and understanding of the U.S. Hispanic audience will be a tremendous asset to KVEA, as we continue to invest and grow our station to better serve the Los Angeles Hispanic community.”

In his new role, Cancela will be responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of KVEA-TV. He will direct and manage all aspects of the station operations including, news, sales, promotions, engineering, finance, HR and community relations. In addition, he will oversee the development and implementation of strategic sales and marketing plans, and direct sales forecasting activities and revenue-generating goals to meet specific company goals and profitability.

“While I have been very blessed professionally during the last seven years, for me, there is no substitute to being in the broadcast business. To say that I am passionate about it is an understatement,” said Cancela. “I am particularly grateful to Ron for allowing me to be part of his team, and I am extremely excited about joining the KVEA-TV family and working with them to have a positive impact in the most exciting and dynamic Hispanic market in the nation.”

Cancela joins KVEA-TV from Hispanic USA Inc., a Hispanic market resource firm based in Miami, Florida, that he founded in 2004 with the intention of making it easy to understand the U.S. Latino marketplace to corporate America. His time there allowed him to work with a world class eclectic group of clients, including ABC Network Radio, DIRECTV, Fisher Island, The Oprah Winfrey Show, ING, KingWorld Productions, Miami Dolphins, Lennar Homes, as well as Sony Music-Latin and World-Band Media. Cancela also authored “The Power of Business en Español, 7 Fundamental Keys to Unlocking the Potential of the Spanish-Language Hispanic Market” (Rayo/HarperCollins).

Prior to Hispanic USA Inc., Cancela was the president and chief operating officer of Radio Unica Communications Corp. from 1998-2004. At Radio Unica, he provided overall strategic leadership at the company, which is the first and only 24-hour Spanish-language radio network in the United States. In addition, he was responsible for the daily management and overall profitability of the company’s 15 owned and operated stations.

Cancela was part of the Telemundo family from 1992-1998, when he served as president and chief operating officer of the Telemundo Station Group. In this post, he was responsible for the operations and financial success of eight television stations in the United States and Puerto Rico. He was integral in generating revenue along with strict fiscal policies to improve cash flow for individual stations, overseeing a double-digit increase in the network’s top and bottom line. Cancela helped launch Latin American cable news channel Telenoticias, working with cable partners throughout the region.

He began his television career at Univision in 1984 as an account executive at WLTV, Channel 23 in Miami and, until his departure in 1992, held several posts including general manager at KTVW Channel 33 in Phoenix, general manager at KWEX Channel 41 in San Antonio, vice president and general manager at WLTV Channel 23 in Miami and vice president at Univision Southwest Station Group.

In 2003, Cancela announced his candidacy for Mayor of Miami-Dade County, and launched a campaign that ended in 2004. Cancela is very active in the community. He currently serves as an advisory board member to Pro-Mujer, a Micro lending organization based in New York. He served as chairman, Public Health Trust, Jackson Memorial Hospital from 1990-1992 and sat on the board of the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund from 1989-1994.

He also is a recipient of several awards and accolades including the Florida Leadership Award, National Council of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) in 2000 and in 1998, he was inducted into Hispanic Business Magazine’s Broadcasting Hall of Fame.