Presentation of the Executive of the Year Award 2025 to René Picado Cozza, President of Teletica
Presentation of the Executive of the Year Award 2025 to René Picado Cozza, President of Teletica
October 18, 2025
Dear colleagues and friends. It is an honor to present the Executive of the Year Award 2025 at this 81st General Assembly. This distinction recognizes not only business vision but also the ability of a media leader to build something greater than a company: the guarantee of a free, independent, and sustainable press.
A strong media outlet is not measured only by its audience, its platforms, or its revenue. It is measured above all by its ability to sustain journalism free from pressures, capable of holding the powerful accountability, and serving the public. And behind that strength, there is always an executive who understands that the true profitability of a news company lies in its credibility.
That is the case with René Picado Cozza. As President of Teletica, he has consolidated a group that is synonymous with plurality and journalistic quality. Under his leadership, Channel 7, home of Telenoticias, has remained the most influential voice in the country, while XpertTV, Radio 91.5, and the digital platforms TD+, TD+2, and TDMAX have expanded the reach of information and entertainment to the entire Costa Rican society.
His entrepreneurial vision also led him to found FUTV, the country’s leading sports channel, and to transform CableTica into the largest cable and internet provider, now holding nearly half of Costa Rica’s telecommunications market. But beyond technological innovation and commercial growth, what distinguishes his leadership is his unwavering commitment to editorial independence.
That commitment has been tested in recent times, in the face of political pressures, verbal attacks, and veiled threats regarding the allocation of advertising and frequencies. Instead of yielding, René Picado chose to defend the essence of journalism: the freedom to inform without fear or conditions.
Today, by honoring him with the Executive of the Year Award, the IAPA celebrates a leader who understands that the sustainability of a media outlet is not an end in itself, but a means to a greater purpose: that journalism may fulfill its democratic mission.
