Walter Ulloa, Founder of Spanish-Language Radio & TV Conglomerate Entravision, Dies at 74

Walter F. Ulloa, the Latin media veteran who founded Entravision Communications, died unexpectedly of a heart attack over the New Year’s holiday weekend, his company announced. He was 74 years old.

At the time of his death, Ulloa was the chairman and chief executive of Entravision, a global digital marketing and media company that boasts more than 4,500 technology and consumer brand clients, according to Ulloa’s LinkedIn page. He co-founded the company with Philip Wilkinson in 1996.

In the U.S., Entravision is known mainly for its robust media offering, which includes 55 television stations, making it the largest independent broadcaster of Univision-affiliated stations in the country, and 47 radio stations, most of them Spanish-language.

Ulloa, who was Mexican-American, grew up in California and graduated from USC. He later attended Loyola Law School. He started his career in media at KMEX-TV, Univision’s flagship television station in Los Angeles, where he worked multiple jobs, from production manager to news director to CEO, before launching Entravision.

Especially at a time when Spanish-language media was not in the hands of Latinos, Ulloa was a trailblazer who saw early on the possibilities in the field and recognized the power of Latin ownership.

“Walter Ulloa was a visionary businessman who took a Spanish-language TV station and built it into a global enterprise,” posted congressman Chuy García (D-IL) on Twitter. “His commitment to empowering the Latino community was his guiding star and his passion. My thoughts are with his family and the many friends he leaves behind.”