Juan Villalonga, the former chairman and CEO of Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, has been appointed to the board of directors of US-based broadcaster Univision Communications Inc.

Villalonga was forced to resign his post at Telefonica last July amid accusations that he benefited from insider information when he bought and sold stock options on Telefonica during merger talks with MCI and WorldCom in 1998. The outspoken acquisitions mogul had also run up against the Spanish government, which still maintains a "golden share" in Telefonica, when he attempted a merger with Dutch telco KPN. He was replaced at Telefonica by former tobacco executive Cesar Alierta.

Villalonga, 47, is expected to bring an expertise of Latin America to his position with Univision, a leader in the US Spanish-speaking television market. While at the helm of Telefonica, Villalonga oversaw the company's expansion into Latin America, among other regions. When Villalonga stepped down from Telefonica there was speculation that he would take a job in the internet sector in the US, where he resides.