Banijay Americas Taps Santiago Zapata

Banijay Americas’ A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic has tapped award-winning producer, writer, exec Santiago Zapata for the position of scripted VP. The new label, a partnership formed between Endemol Shine Boomdog and Brazil’s A Fábrica was founded in January in a bid to focus on producing more scripted content for the Mexican, Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets.

Zapata, who will oversee all scripted development and production for the Mexico City-based label, joins from Ntertain Studios/Neon16, founded by former Sony Music Entertainment CEO Tommy Mottola and Lex Borrero, where he led the film & TV division out of Miami.

At Ntertain Studios/Neon16, he developed a slate of films, original series, documentaries and brand alliances for the U.S. and Latin American markets. These included collaborations with such luminaries as Will Smith, Thalia and Big Sean.

He recently served as showrunner on the Disney+ series “Los Montaner” for two seasons, wrote and executive produced Netflix’s “La Firma” and Paramount+’s “Thalia’s Mixtape,” and is currently directing and producing a feature documentary on Mottola, the legendary music producer who signed and promoted such major talents as Mariah Carey, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion and Michael Jackson, among others.

“Santiago is a storyteller at heart and brings deep creative experience as an executive, along with a forward-thinking enthusiasm as a producer,” said Luiz Noronha, president of A Fábrica Mexico & U.S. Hispanic. “He’s truly a breath of fresh air, with a strong foundation in both scripted and talent-driven projects. His collaborative spirit and instinctive understanding of client needs will keep us closely aligned with our partners and the stories they want to tell the world.”

Zapata, who was born in Oakland, CA, takes over the responsibilities of Jerry Rodriguez who has recently ankled. As a writer and producer, his most notable…