The Walt Disney Company has announced that Guillermo Tabanera, Senior Vice President and General Manager of ESPN and Disney Distribution Latin America, is leaving the company after a 32-year career. Tabanera has decided to start a new chapter in his life, and as part of this transition, he will be relocating to Uruguay to focus on personal projects.
Although he’ll be stepping away from corporate life, Tabanera will maintain ties with Disney to help prepare for the upcoming 25th-anniversary celebration of Sportscentr in Latin America. This move is a significant one, and Diego Lerner, president of The Walt Disney Company Latin America, acknowledged the impact of Tabanera’s departure, saying, “It’s not easy to let someone go who has defined the foundation, evolution, and development of ESPN in the region in such a significant way.”
The company has released a statement praising Tabanera’s professional performance and contributions to the company’s key projects. As the GM of ESPN, Tabanera had a strategic vision for the sports component, understanding its central role in the value offered to customers. He successfully transformed ESPN into a leading sports content factory, despite initial forecasts and intense competition. Today, ESPN boasts Sportscentr as one of its most prominent emblems, producing 65,000 hours of content that reaches 100 million people per month.
Under Tabanera’s leadership, the company achieved significant results, including the successful conversion of ESPN and Fox into a single unit, resulting in efficiencies that brought content to broader, more diverse, and massive audiences. Disney also commended Tabanera for his role in monetizing the contents of family, entertainment, and sports networks, as well as Disney, Star, and their various applications.
Lerner expressed his gratitude to Tabanera, saying, “We thank Guillermo for his significant contribution, his vision, his effort, and the deep mark he leaves in his teams and in the company.” As Tabanera embarks on this new stage of his life, his legacy at Disney will undoubtedly be remembered as one of significant growth and transformation.
Legacy of Guillermo Tabanera
Tabanera’s achievements will be celebrated as part of the 25th-anniversary festivities of Sportscentr in Latin America. His dedication and strategic vision have left a lasting impact on the company, and his contributions will continue to shape the future of sports content in the region.
A New Chapter
As Tabanera begins this new chapter in his life, he will undoubtedly bring his expertise and passion to his personal projects in Uruguay. Though he may be leaving Disney, his influence on the company and the world of sports will be felt for years to come.