Univision CFO Steps Down

Spanish-language television giant Univision Communications Inc. said Friday that its chief financial officer resigned a little more than a year after taking the job.

Jeffrey Hinson, 50, is being replaced by Andrew W. Hobson, a longtime associate of billionaire A. Jerrold Perenchio, Univision’s chairman.

Hobson, 43, also serves as the Century City-based company’s senior executive vice president and chief strategic officer. He has been an executive with Univision since 1993. Before that, Hobson worked for Chartwell Partners, Perenchio’s investment vehicle.

Hinson was CFO of a Dallas-based radio chain, Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., when Univision acquired it in 2003 and renamed it Univision Radio. He was rewarded with the CFO job at Univision in March 2004 for his role in helping fold the company into Univision. Hinson plans to stay through the end of the year.

His is the third high-ranking executive departure disclosed by Univision in the last six months. In December, McHenry Tichenor Jr., president of Univision Radio, resigned but remains a Univision director. Ron Furman, executive vice president for network sales, left earlier this year.

Univision also lost two board members recently: Grupo Televisa Chairman Emilio Azcarraga Jean resigned in May, and Fernando Aguirre, an executive of Chiquita Brands International Inc., quit in February.

Univision shares lost 24 cents to $27.19.