Hollywood’s Top Young Latino Decision-Makers

This story first appeared in the Nov. 29 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Lucas Akoskin, 34

In just 11 months, the Argentine pro­ducer’s BN Films already has a full slate, including collaborations with Jonas Cuaron and Demian Bichir. “We always try to put a Latin element in our movies,” he says, “but we mix those elements to create a balance.”

Alex Alonso, 35, and Ricardo De Montreiul, 39

The Mun2 execs (vp brand marketing and vp creative director, respectively) drove a successful rebranding campaign that has doubled the audience for Telemundo’s younger-skewing network (now reaching 40 million households).

STORY: The Hollywood Reporter Names the Young Hispanic Hollywood Class of 2013

Fabian Castro, 34

Universal Pictures’ multicultural marketing senior vp tailors strategy to Hispanics, who turn films like Fast & Furious 6 and Mama into hits. “It’s not cookie-cutter,” he says. “We’re making a personal invitation to this important audience.”

Cesar Conde, 39

The former Univision president became an NBCUniversal executive vp in September — and one of the most powerful Hispanics in Hollywood. “Coming from a place where you understand content in different languages and parts of the world has been very helpful to apply to the global audience,” he says.

STORY: NBCUniversal Hires Univision Networks President Cesar Conde as Executive VP

Beau Ferrari, 35

In the past 18 months, Univision’s executive vp operations launched sports-centric Deportes and all-English Fusion. “The goal is to have a Univision brand experience everywhere our audience is,” he says.

Alexis Garcia, 36, and Eric Rovner, 37

“What people understand better than they did 10 years ago is, there is no one Latino,” says Garcia, a WME global finance agent who helped package Drive and now is working on the Bryan Cranston-starrer Trumbo. His colleague Rovner, who launched WME’s Latin division and reps Robert Rodriguez and Eugenio Derbez, agrees: “Media now needs to cater to these different sectors and cross-pollinate within the mainstream.”

Erika Kennair, 33

Since joining Syfy in 2008, the vp original programming and development has helped diversify staffing in its writers rooms by 733 percent. But, notes Kennair, who also created NBC’s Writers on the Verge program: “It’s not about quotas. It’s about looking at the voice of the American viewing public and representing them.”

Javier Maynulet, 39

The Telemundo CFO crossed over from the general market side of parent company NBCUniversal five years ago. “For Spanish-dominant Hispanics, TV viewership has stayed flat or increased,” he says. “It’s an affirmation of our growth potential.”

Priscilla Porianda, 32

The newly promoted development head for Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions has had a banner year, including launching a NuvoTV partnership and producing ABC Family’s breakout The Fosters. “We want to find things that are edgy, timely and socially relevant,” she says.