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Robert Mendez was promoted to senior vice president, Diversity, Disney-ABC Television Group in November 2005. Based in Burbank, California, he reports to Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney-ABC Television Group.
In this newly created position, Mr. Mendez will be responsible for advancing diversity strategies for the various properties within Disney-ABC Television Group, including the ABC Television Network, ABC Television Studio, Disney Channel Worldwide, SOAPnet, Toon Disney, Jetix, ABC Family and Walt Disney Television Animation, among others. In addition to his internal management responsibilities, he will serve as the Disney-ABC Television Group�s key liaison on diversity matters with government officials, the creative community, advocacy groups and others.
Mr. Mendez is an accomplished television industry attorney who has managed business affairs, legal affairs, contract administration and production agreements for such successful TV series as Live with Regis and Kelly and Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. Long committed to employment diversity in the television industry and other business sectors, he is a past president of the Hispanic National Bar Association and currently serves on the boards of the Hispanic National Bar Foundation and The Imagen Foundation.
Mr. Mendez previously served, since 2002, as senior vice president, Business & Legal Affairs, for Buena Vista Television, the television syndication division of The Walt Disney Company which distributes Live with Regis and Kelly and also manages the production and/or distribution of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, The Tony Danza Show and Ebert & Roeper, among other programs. Mr. Mendez�s responsibilities also extended to the domestic distribution of The Walt Disney Company�s film library and other television product on various platforms, such as pay-per-view, pay cable, network and Internet.
Earlier in his career Mr. Mendez spent 15 years with Paramount Pictures Domestic Television, where he rose to the position of senior vice president, Business Affairs, and was responsible for contract negotiation for series ranging from Entertainment Tonight to Dr. Phil. He has also been a senior attorney for NBC involved in litigation management on First Amendment and other issues, and was deputy attorney general for the California Attorney General�s Criminal Division.
Mr. Mendez received his Juris Doctorate from the University of California Davis School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from Pomona College. He is a member of the California State Bar and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. | 