Hyphenate Media Group, the production venture and holding company launched in October by Eva Longoria and Cris Abrego with backing from Banijay, has set its leadership team with the appointments of three senior executives.
Jada Miranda, formerly of STX Entertainment, has been named president of television for the Los Angeles-based company headed by actor/director/producer Longoria and the veteran producer and TV executive Abrego. Banijay Americas executives Karla Pita Loor and Alex Chang have signed on to Hyphenate as chief strategy officer and chief operating officer, respectively. The two will continue to consult for Paris-based Banijay.
“Jada’s impressive track record speaks for itself. With her vast network and studio experience across domestic and international co-productions and her deep talent relationships, she is the ideal leader to run Hyphenate originals,” Longoria said. “Cris and I are excited to count on her creativity and vision as we build our television business.”
Pita Loor spent eight years with the Television Academy Foundation as chief development officer before joining Banijay’s Endemol Shine division as executive VP of enterprise inclusion and social responsibility in May 2021. In that role she already worked closely with Abrego, who maintains an executive role at Banijay Americas in addition to leading Hyphenate Media with Longoria.
“I’ve worked closely with Karla and Alex over years at Banijay and have consistently counted on their partnership and professional acumen to bolster that business,” said Abrego. “Eva and I are thrilled to have them both join us on this venture and look forward to leaning on their dynamic leadership to deliver on the ambitious strategic and operational goals we have set across our studio business and all our holdings.”
Chang will oversee finance and operations of Hyphenate and its production labels. The company aims to produce its own original content as well as provide infrastructure for other independent producers to production through the Hyphenate Media pipeline. He was previously senior VP of finance and strategy for Banijay Americas. He led meaningful investments including the majority acquisition of Brazilian studio A Fabrica.
“Nobody opened doors for us in Hollywood. We had to make our own way,” Abrego told PvNew last year when he and Longoria launched Hyphenate at the Mipcom content market in Cannes. “There’s power in being a hyphenate, of all kinds.”
