Marcos Santana to step down from his role as President of Telemundo Global Studios

Marcos Santana, President of Telemundo Global Studios, will step down from his role in January 2022, moving to a multiyear deal as an advisor and executive producer, the company said on Thursday. Santana, who has been with Telemundo for 14 years and has led the studio for seven years, will now focus on select original productions, including the third season of “La Reina del Sur,” while pursuing other independent opportunities.

When Santana steps down, Karen Barroeta, EVP of Production and Development at Telemundo Global Studios; and Juan Ponce, SVP and General Manager of Telemundo Streaming Studios, will start reporting directly to Beau Ferrari, Chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. Barroeta will continue to oversee the development and production of long-format scripted content, talent and the head writers’ team, while Ponce will carry on leading short-format scripted content exclusively designed for direct-to-consumer platforms, in addition to production operations, production design and Telemundo’s Underground Producciones in Argentina.

During his time with Telemundo, Santana held roles as President of Telemundo International and President of Telemundo International Studios, and oversaw close to 40 original productions, including some of the network’s biggest hits, such as “La Reina del Sur” and “El Señor de los Cielos”. Most recently, he led the launch of Telemundo Streaming Studios.

“It has been an honor to call NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises my home for almost 15 years. I am grateful to Telemundo for giving me the support and creative freedom to develop and produce some of the most impactful Spanish-language content in the world, while raising the quality of production in Hispanic media and closing prominent co-production alliances. I am happy to continue working with the great team of professionals at Telemundo and to focus on the projects that I like as I embark on a new and exciting stage of my career,”  Santana said.