Manuel Abud, CEO of The Latin Recording Academy
Manuel Abud has served as CEO of The Latin Recording Academy since August 2021, after joining the organization in 2019 as Chief Operating Officer. In that role, he oversaw day-to-day operations across business development, communications, digital strategy, marketing, and production, while also leading major organizational restructuring efforts and expanding digital content initiatives. In addition to his responsibilities as the senior executive officer for The Latin Academy, he oversees the activities of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation.
Under his leadership, The Latin Recording Academy held Latin GRAMMY Week outside the U.S. for the first time in 2023, establishing a historic milestone for the GRAMMY brand. Last year, for its 25th anniversary, the Latin GRAMMYs returned to their hometown of Miami, marking the third time the award show has taken place in Florida.
At the start of his tenure Abud implemented a rigorous evaluation process to ensure geographic, genre, generational, and gender diversity across all initiatives. This has resulted in increased recognition of diverse creators within the Latin GRAMMYs and throughout The Latin Academy’s various platforms.
With over 30 years in U.S. Hispanic media, Abud is a recognized leader in Latin entertainment. Prior to The Latin Academy, he was president and CEO of Azteca América, where he successfully led the network’s transformation and its 2017 acquisition by HC2 Holdings, Inc. He also spent more than 14 years at NBCUniversal, holding key executive roles, including President of the Telemundo Station Group, TV station president and general manager in Los Angeles and Dallas, and President of Telemundo Cable. Earlier in his career, he led CBS Telenoticias and held leadership roles at Televisa, Medcom, and ICA in Mexico.
Beyond his professional work, Abud sits on the Board of Councilors at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the Board of MusiCares. He has also served on boards for the Texas Association of Broadcasters, Junior Achievement of Dallas, the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, and several other nonprofit organizations.
Abud holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and an MBA from Houston Baptist University. He resides in Miami with his wife.