Leonardo Arrangivel, the multi-Emmy Award-nominated television executive who spearheaded the local production of Disney Latin America’s hits “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” will leave the company on February 22.
Alan Guibel currently serves as Vice President of Production and Head of Production, Operations and Strategy at The Walt Disney Company Latin America, where he has been with the company since 2005.
He coined the term “superseries” to describe these regional adaptations. These included “Brothers and Sisters” and “Revenge,” a term that was later adopted by the trade press and local industry.
Alain Guibel will likely take a well-deserved break and then seek another path. “This is something I’ve been considering for quite some time. In fact, I first approached my HR director about this almost two years ago, and recent structural adjustments within the organization have accelerated this step,” he told Variety, adding: “I’ve been with Disney for over 20 years, not only in Latin America, but also in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and the United States. I’ve also been in charge of the Hispanic market for almost 10 years, so it was clear that it was time for a change.”
He worked closely with the late Diego Lerner, who spearheaded Disney Latin America’s strong expansion as president. Although some changes had already occurred, Mr. Lerner’s death in December accelerated structural changes within the company, with a return to more centralized operations and territories reporting directly to Burbank.
“I am very proud to have been part of a team that led the pace and change of the region for my entire career and for more than 15 years in a row, with historic achievements. As we Venezuelans say, “Nadie nos puede quitar lo bailado,” or “no one can take away from us what we danced,” he said.
Mr. Arranguibel began his career in television at Venezuela’s leading broadcaster RCTV, where he served as exterior and studio director for several international telenovela productions, including “Leonera,” “La Dama de Rosa,” “La Intorza,” and “La Salvaje.”
He also produced and directed musicals and video clips for international artists such as Juan Luis Guerra y Su 4.40, Cheo Feliciano, and Franco de Vita, which gave him a head start in international television when HBO hired him as production director for YATV, a joint venture between Warner Music, HBO, and a European record company.
From 1995 to 2001, he was Vice President of Original Production at HBO Hispanic Americas & Brazil, where he led the team that created pioneering franchises such as “Chronicus Anonymous” and “Septimo Sentido.”
After immigrating to the United States with his family in mid-2002, he worked as a freelance writer, director, and producer for People & Arts and Discovery Networks from 2002 to 2004. He then directed the studio production of NBC Telemundo’s hit telenovela “Prisionella” (2004).
He joined Disney in 2005 and has worked on hit shows such as “Superseries” and the Juan Gabriel biographical series “Hasta que te conoci,” where he has credits as original writer, executive producer, and writer/director of select episodes. Its unprecedented success sparked a wave of biopics in the industry, with director Alan Guibel producing some of the best such as “Selena’s Secret” (2018) and “Monzon: Knockout Blow.” Other standout series he served as executive producer for Disney included “Santa Evita” (2023) and “The Boss” (2022-24). All were outstanding in their production values.
Alan Guibel also executive produced seven seasons of the multi-Emmy Award-winning adventure reality series The Amazing Race in the region for Discovery Networks and then for Turner Networks as a Disney Latin American production. He also became a consultant to Disney for several international adaptations of this show in European and Middle Eastern countries.
“I don’t know if this is my last stop, but as of today, I’d like to believe it is. Of course, I’ll continue to be involved in some creative endeavors, either personally or with family, colleagues, and friends. Still, I’m a never-say-never type of guy,” he mused.
John Hopewell contributed to this article.
