LOS ANGELES — He’s a Cuban immigrant who serves as an Army Reserve Ambassador in California, where his full time job is as President/CEO of Meruelo Media, the licensee of radio and television stations owned by entrepreneur Alex Meruelo.
Come February 28, he’ll be relinquishing his leadership role at the Meruelo-helmed operation.
In an announcement shared with Meruelo Media staff on Tuesday morning, Otto Padrón said that it is “with a heart full of mixed emotions” that he is “to turn the page and step down” as President/CEO at the end of February.
Tomás Trujillo will assume Padrón’s duties, rising from SVP of Finance and Operations, a role he’s held since rising from VP/Operations in September 2020. Trujillo is a veteran of Meruelo Media, and previously served as VP/Operations for its KPWR “Power 106” in Los Angeles and, before that, in a similar role for its KDAY Radio brand in Southern California. He’s also been Assistant General Manager and Operations Director for KWHY-22, when it was a MundoMax affiliate. Trujillo joined the company when he took a position at related entity Meruelo Capital Partners, as an analyst. This was in March 2011, leading him to earn the role of GM of the former MundoFox affiliate serving the Houston market in July 2013.
Speaking of Trujillo, Padrón said, “I will pass the company torch to Tomás, whom I am confident will continue to light the way with the same bright intensity and passion he has always displayed.”
Padrón continued, “Almost 14 years ago, we set out to make our organization the premier minority-owned media company in the US. I’m proud to have dedicated my name, soul, skill, and reputation to turn that vision into reality. Through hard work, trust, and accountability, we grew every aspect of our organization, reshaping our beloved village, pivoting purposefully, and creating a long-term strategic plan for success. Our well-crafted path, executed with precision in one of the most competitive media markets in the U.S., transformed our single-station operation into a dynamic cluster of iconic TV and Radio brands.”
In addition to the aforementioned radio and TV stations, Meruelo Media’s assets also include Rocker KLOS-FM (acquired in 2019) and entertainment and personality-heavy Latin Urban KLLI “Cali 93.9.”
Padrón commented, “It’s been a career-defining journey. This organization is stronger today than it was when I took over, and I am humbled to have been the catalyst of our team.”
Padrón’s next chapter “brings with it excitement and new challenges.”
This will see him focus on the launch of a media strategies company to be named ACTIFY. “This new venture will allow me to stay connected with many of you while exploring innovative projects in the media space I’m so passionate about,” he said.
Padrón has been a key figure in the growth of Meruelo Media into one of Southern California’s key broadcast media companies. In 2014, Otto led the design and construction of The Meruelo Broadcast and Studio Center in mid-city Los Angeles.
Before joining Meruelo Media, Padrón was Senior Vice President of Programming for the Univision Television Network, where he managed more than $500 million domestic programming assets between summer 1995 and March 2010. Before that, Padrón served as Director of Programming for NBCUniversal-owned Telemundo — from October 1992 until June 1995.
