Renowned as an entrepreneur, television executive, award-winning producer, and showrunner, Cris Abrego has been a formidable force at the forefront of the media and entertainment industry for over two decades. In 2023, he co-founded Hyphenate Media Group, where he serves as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, setting the strategy and vision across the studio and all its holdings and investments.

During his career, Abrego has steered both established and start-up companies towards market leadership. In addition to his role at Hyphenate, he also serves as Chairman of the Americas for the international media and entertainment
powerhouse Banijay, which made a strategic investment in Hyphenate to help fasttrack its growth and fuel its M&A operations. Abrego previously served as CEO of Endemol Shine Holdings, where he grew the company aggressively by scaling several key holdings under its banner in both the US and in Latin America, including Endemol Shine Boomdog, Endemol Shine Brasil, and Truly Original. Abrego's entrepreneurial capacity first manifested itself when he co-founded 51 Minds Entertainment in 2003, where he pioneered the celeb-reality genre with breakthrough unscripted formats such as The Surreal Life and the many spin-offs it generated. Abrego grew that company from its boutique beginnings to be a major unscripted studio that was acquired by Endemol five years later. Committed to prosocial and humanitarian endeavors that expand access to education, entrepreneurship, and creative leadership, Abrego has lent his influence and his philanthropic support to a number of key organizations and initiatives. In 2022, he was elected chairman of the Television Academy, the 23,000+ member organization that oversees the Emmy Awards and is dedicated to advancing the art and science of television by cultivating an innovative, dynamic, and diverse creative industry through recognition, education, and leadership.