Telemundo Stations Group names new GMs in LA, Miami & Puerto Rico.

The multimillion dollar investments will be directed to enhance current news programs and expand the stations’ news offering and local programming in selected markets. Top markets will increase their marketing investments and further enhance their community activities considering a focus on key “causes” and a strategic alignment with the network initiatives. Additional investments will also be used to reinforce the stations’ technological backbone and optimize distribution and signal quality across all markets.

“We are investing in our stations for today and the future,” said Abud. “As I have said earlier, community and localism is a priority for Telemundo Media and thanks to the support of NBCUniversal’s leadership, we’re making this a reality. Celia Chavez, Jose Cancela and Jorge Carballo are integral team members of the Station Group and as we fuel the growth of Telemundo’s local stations, each will use their unparalleled understanding of the marketplace to maintain strong audience engagement and outreach in our community.”

Telemundo Station Group also announced that Joe Navarro has been named Senior Vice President, Station Operations, reporting directly to Abud. In Navarro’s new role, he will support Abud in all aspects of stations operations, taking on key projects across several stations and leading initiatives consistent with the Station Group’s growth plan. Previously, Navarro was Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Telemundo Media. With close to ten years in the company, Navarro has played a key role in the growth of the stations and the network since he joined Telemundo in 2003 as Director, Human Resources for WKAQ in Puerto Rico.

– Celia Chavez, President and General Manager, KVEA – Los Angeles: In late 2009, Chavez was named President and General Manager of Telemundo WSNS-Chicago. Under her leadership, WSNS has delivered ratings and market share growth, and the station has been recognized with six Emmy® Awards for news and local programming. Previously, in 2008, she was named President and General Manager of two Telemundo stations – KBLR-Las Vegas and KDEN-Denver. Prior to leading these stations, Chavez was Vice President and General Manager of Telemundo KVDA-San Antonio from 2006-2008. Chavez began her career in Spanish-language media in 1988 at Galavision, where she worked until 1993 when she joined KWHY-TV.

– Jose Cancela, President and General Manager, WKAQ – Puerto Rico: Cancela most recently served as President of Telemundo KVEA-Los Angeles, a position he has held since August 2011. He joined 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. Prior to Hispanic USA Inc., he was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Radio Unica Communications Corp. from 1998-2004. Cancela was part of the Telemundo family from 1992-1998, when he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Telemundo Station Group.

– Jorge Carballo, President and General Manager, WSVC – Miami: Carballo joined the Telemundo family in 1993 as an Account Executive. He became Local Sales Manager in October of the same year and in December of 1995, was promoted to General Sales Manager/Vice President of Sales. Prior to joining Telemundo, Carballo held Account Executive positions at numerous media outlets in South Florida. With almost 30 years of sales experience in the South Florida market, he began his sales career in cable television, first by selling subscription door-to-door, and then by selling local advertising in the cable interconnect channels.