Pedro Padilla Appointed CEO Of Grupo Salinas Takes Position Formerly Held by Ricardo B. Salinas, Who Will Remain as Chairman of the Group MEXICO CITY, July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grupo Salinas, a group of dynamic, fast-growing and technologically advanced companies deeply committed to the modernization of Mexico, today announced that Pedro Padilla, former CEO of TV Azteca, and COO of Grupo Salinas, has been promoted to CEO of the group, a position formerly held by Ricardo B. Salinas, who will continue acting as Grupo Salinas' Chairman. Effective July 14, Mr. Padilla was succeeded by Mario San Roman as TV Azteca's CEO. Pedro Padilla, 38, has been CEO of TV Azteca for the last three years, where he was able to position the company as one of the most profitable television broadcasters in the world. Mr. Padilla, a member of TV Azteca's Board of Directors since 1993, will continue to be Vice-Chairman of the broadcaster's Board. Under his tenure, TV Azteca streamlined its operations, reaching record levels of profitability and operating cash flow. In 2003, Mr. Padilla instituted the company's six-year cash disbursement plan, which entails reducing TV Azteca's debt by approximately US$250 million, and making cash distributions to shareholders above US$500 million by 2008. To date the plan has resulted in US$173 million in cash distributions and approximately US$80 million in debt reductions in the company's balance, which is in one of the strongest positions in the company's history. Mr. Padilla engineered the retransformation of TV Azteca to a pure-play media company, by spinning-off the company's interest in Unefon to Unefon Holdings; he oversaw the international expansion of TV Azteca through Azteca America, which today has presence in 38 cities covering 78% of the US Hispanic population. Under his mantle, TV Azteca's local stations managed to increase their client portfolio by five thousand accounts, and some of the company's most successful programming concepts, including La Academia -- the company's record-breaking musical reality show -- were developed. Before being appointed CEO of TV Azteca, he held top management positions at Grupo Elektra and Grupo Salinas. Mr. Padilla, who joined Grupo Elektra in 1989, was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 1992 and became the company's Chief Executive Officer the following year, overseeing Elektra's successful IPO in Mexico's Bolsa and the New York Stock Exchange. Under Mr. Padilla's leadership, Elektra's cash generation increased almost ten-fold from US$30 million EBITDA in 1993 to US$250 million when he left the company in 2000. After earning his law degree from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in 1989, Mr. Padilla joined Grupo Elektra as a legal advisor at a time when the company had fewer than 100 outlets nationwide, compared with close to 1,000 outlets that the company controlled when he left his CEO position. In 1990, Mr. Padilla re-instated consumer credit for Grupo Elektra's customers, which had been eliminated following the devaluation of the peso in 1987. Today, Grupo Elektra is Latin America's leading specialty retailer and consumer finance company. During his tenure as company CEO, Mr. Padilla created the financial services division and established customer savings accounts. Today the consumer finance operations that he left at Grupo Elektra have been inherited by Banco Azteca, which after one year of operations, reports more than four million accounts and deposits surpassing US$800 million. Additionally, as CEO of Grupo Elektra, Pedro Padilla instituted state-of- the-art technology information systems to implement and manage Elektra's rapid growth, while allowing the different store formats to distribute additional products and services. Mr. Padilla expanded Elektra into new retail formats including Salinas & Rocha, which offers furniture, housewares and luxury goods, and Bodega de Remates, offering discounted items. He engineered the expansion of Elektra's operations internationally. "Pedro Padilla has clearly demonstrated an outstanding ability to lead and grow profitably some of the most important corporations in Mexico," said Ricardo B. Salinas, Chairman of Grupo Salinas. "Under his leadership, Grupo Elektra became Latin America's leading retailer and consumer finance company, and TV Azteca has notably improved its operating performance and profitability, while expanding the company's reach to the international arena. I am confident that Pedro will be able to bring the high operational standards that he set at Grupo Elektra and TV Azteca to every single Grupo Salinas company. I am sure that all of them will benefit from his decisive leadership and vision." Mr. Salinas will devote the majority of his time to serving the broader goals of Grupo Salinas in his ongoing role as the group's Chairman. As such, he will continue to oversee the Executive Committee comprised of the chief executives of all the Grupo Salinas companies and focus on setting long-term strategic goals, defining organizational structure, and on matters of executive compensation, development and staffing throughout the organization. "This is a great responsibility and privilege. I welcome the challenge of leading the strategic advancement of the Grupo Salinas companies," Mr. Padilla said. "I believe that each single Grupo Salinas company will continue to create value for Mexican society, through a commitment to excellence that I am willing to strengthen." Grupo Salinas noted Mr. Padilla's appointment is effective July 14, however, there will be a six-month transition period, ending on December 31, 2004, to ensure that Mr. Padilla's CEO functions at TV Azteca are transferred to Mario San Roman -- the newly appointed CEO of TV Azteca -- in a comprehensive and orderly manner. Grupo Salinas Profile Grupo Salinas is a group of dynamic, fast growing, and technologically advanced companies focused on creating shareholder value, building the Mexican middle class, and improving society through excellence. Created by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo B. Salinas, Grupo Salinas operates as a management development and decision forum for the top leaders of member companies: TV Azteca, Azteca America, Grupo Elektra, Banco Azteca, Afore Azteca, Seguros Azteca, Unefon, Iusacell, Movil@ccess, Todito.com and Telecosmo. Each of the Grupo Salinas companies operates independently, with its own management, board of directors and shareholders. Grupo Salinas has no equity holdings. However, member companies share a common vision, values and strategies for achieving rapid growth, superior results and world-class performance. DATASOURCE: Grupo Salinas CONTACT: Media Relations, Tristan Canales Najar, Corporate Communications, +011-5255-3099-1441, or Daniel McCosh, International Communications, +011-5255-3099-0059, both of Grupo Salinas Web site: http://www.tvazteca.com.mx/

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