Alex Tolston is general counsel of Hemisphere Media Group (NASDAQ: HMTV), a leading publicly traded Spanish-language media company that operates television networks in the US and Latin America. One nominator, a senior partner at a US law firm, says the following: ‘I consistently interact with general counsel of large corporations and Tolston – by far – is at the top of the list in terms of [those] who understand their board of directors and management team, their company’s investors and business, and the applicable law’. Indeed, Tolston was among the most highly nominated counsel to feature in this list, with law firm partners from both the US and a number of Latin American jurisdictions expressing their admiration for his ‘vast experience in M&A’, his ‘experience overseeing and coordinating operation in many jurisdictions’ and his ‘understanding the local regulations and the local environment’. Described as a ‘dynamic, results oriented and business minded general counsel who can balance numerous transactions with the other needs of his company at once’ and ‘a very fine lawyer with a deep knowledge not only of his field of expertise but also of corporate and contractual law, arbitration and much else, as well as a thorough knowledge of Latin America’, Tolston has been involved in a number of high-profile matters across the region. Hemisphere owns five Spanish-language cable television networks distributed in the US, two Spanish-language cable television networks distributed in Latin America, the number-one-rated broadcast television network in Puerto Rico, as well as several broadcast and digital joint ventures with leading media partners. In the past six months, Tolston has led a number of teams that have significantly expanded Hemisphere’s operations. For example, he was pivotal in helping to obtain a ruling from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorising Hemisphere to increase its foreign ownership to 49.99%, which exceeds the 25% cap otherwise applicable to owners of TV broadcast stations in the US. The FCC has taken steps in recent years to modernise its rules concerning foreign ownership of media platforms, though the application of these new rules to broadcast media has been slow to gain traction. Led by Tolston, Hemisphere sought a declaratory ruling from the FCC. For a US-based broadcaster with commercial interests in Latin America, this represents a significant development. Various jurisdictions in Latin America grant US broadcasters reciprocity on foreign ownership limits, and increasing the threshold of foreign ownership permitted in the US, allows Hemisphere to benefit from a reciprocal increase in permitted foreign ownership in certain Latin American markets. Parallel to these negotiations, Tolston led on a deal which saw Hemisphere obtain a concession to operate a nationwide broadcast television network in Colombia in partnership with leading Colombian TV programming producers and, as a result of the FCC’s ruling, the company is expected to be able to increase its equity interest in the partnership to a higher level than would otherwise be permitted under Colombian law. The transaction saw Hemisphere and its joint venture partners awarded the third national broadcast concession licence in Colombia, breaking the entrenched duopoly that has, until recently, defined the Colombian broadcast television landscape. ‘We view Colombia as an amazing opportunity’, says Tolston. ‘Our management team has a proven track record of taking underperforming networks and making them best-in-class, including taking our Puerto Rican broadcaster, WAPA, from number three to number one in Puerto Rico in only two years, and maintaining WAPA’s leadership position for eight consecutive years. The entire broadcast market in Latin America is strong, but pay-TV penetration is still not as pervasive as some other well developed media markets like the US, which makes it extremely enticing. It’s fascinating to study various Latin American jurisdictions, because they each have their own distinct rules and procedures and we’re rapidly getting up to speed on the market and what the next opportunity may be.’ Tolston’s work on matters such as this have impressed those he works with, and his ‘ability to manage complex issues with the proper balance’ struck a number of nominators. One law firm partner describes his interaction with Tolston during a particularly complex transaction that saw Hemisphere in negotiations with a number of the largest players in the media market and ‘some of the most sophisticated outside counsel around’. The deal, which the partner describes as ‘easily [one of] the most challenging I have worked on’, involved a complex business agreement and a huge number of transaction documents. Tolston was at the centre of parts of the negotiations, dealing with, and managing the expectations of ‘at least five different constituencies.’ His ‘incredible’ work on this matter was instrumental to a successful resolution of a transaction that proved to be hugely important to Hemisphere’s operations. Before moving in-house, Tolston practiced in the corporate department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York. He acted as outside counsel on Hemisphere’s 2013 initial public offering and joined as its general counsel shortly after.