Billboard celebrated its 2021 Latin Power Players event in Miami on Monday night with more than 65 executives representing top music companies.
Hosted by Billboard president Julian Holguin; editorial director Hannah Karp; and VP/Latin industry lead Leila Cobo at the Nobu Restaurant in the Nobu Hotel, the event also honored Latin executive of the year Noah Assad, the co-founder and CEO of Rimas Entertainment.
“The reason Noah is exec of the year is not because of Bad Bunny but because of his body of work,” Cobo said to guests ahead of a private dinner.
Assad, who also manages Karol G and Eladio Carrion, among others, had a stellar year with his clients, including Bad Bunny, who became the first artist in Billboard history to place an all-Spanish album at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
At 31, he’s also the youngest executive ever to be honored as a Billboard executive of the year.
“Thank you. There are many familiar faces here that supported my career and in one way or another put their two cents in to help me get to where I am now,” he said, crediting 2021 Latin Power Players honorees such as Camille Soto and Vicente Saavedra. “Without realizing it, they lent me their knowledge.”
Everyone in attendance was included on the 2021 list of Billboard‘s Latin Power Players, including top executives from Spotify, Universal, Warner, Sony and more.