HBO Max Latin America Adds Luis Duran As General Manager, Hires Leadership Team For Service’s 2021 Rollout

WarnerMedia announced Tuesday that Luis Duran is joining the company in February as General Manager for HBO Max Latin America. He will report to Johannes Larcher, Head of HBO Max International and will be responsible for the rollout and management of WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer play, HBO Max, in Latin America. That service is expected to launch later this year.

Duran most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer for the digital unit of MBC Group, the Middle East’s leading media company based in Dubai, where he was part of the relaunch of the group’s flagship digital product, Shahid, overseeing all revenue streams and leading the marketing, distribution and analytics and support teams.

Before MBC Group, Duran held senior leadership roles at iflix, a VOD service focused on emerging markets, and TIMWE, a global provider of digital and traditional content solutions.

“HBO has a stellar reputation as the go-to destination for premium programming throughout Latin America,” said Larcher, “and HBO Max will build on that foundation to offer a broader selection of entertainment content that will appeal to the entire household. We have set ambitious goals to make HBO Max a compelling and accessible streaming option in Latin America, and I am confident Luis and his team are ready to help realize this aspiration.”

Joining Duran’s leadership team are Dionne Bermudez as Head of Product, Jose Calderoni as Head of Growth Marketing, Dainira Falk as Legal Lead, Maria Huntsberry as Talent Lead, Jesus Rodriguez as Head of Content Experience and Dario Tonelli as Head of Data, Insights & Planning.

Last week, WarnerMedia Latin America announced the departures of veteran execs Luis F. Peraza, who is President of Networks for HBO Latin America, and Roberto Rios, who serves as Corporate Vice President of Original Production for HBO Latin America. The duo will be leaving the company in the latter half of February.

The new HBO Max Latin America leaders will partner with Whit Richardson, who is President of WarnerMedia Latin America, and members of his team. WarnerMedia Latin America is responsible for the MVPD distribution of HBO Max, the production of local original content and the overall HBO Max content strategy.