• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 16, 2012

Keith Turner, a former longtime colleague of Univision CEO Randy Falco at NBCUniversal, will take over the top ad sales role at the Spanish-language media company. Turner, a senior vice president of media and sponsorship at the NFL, replaces David Lawenda.

Turner joins Univision as president of ad sales and marketing next month, based in New York. Lawenda steps down.

Turner led sales at NBC before leaving the post several years ago; he worked at the company for more than 20 years. Most recently, he was SVP, media sales and sponsorship at the National Football League. At the NFL, he helped bring Anheuser-Busch back into the fold as an NFL “partner” after a lengthy hiatus and inked new deals with USAA and Xbox.

In a recent earnings call, Univision indicated that its upfront sales were landing CPM and volume increases in the mid-single-digit percentage range.

With his sports experience, including with Olympic sales at NBC, Turner may be able to help build sales at Univision’s new all-sports cable network.

In an internal memo sent by Falco, he said Lawenda “decided a few months ago that it was time to look at the next phase of his career. Fortunately, he agreed for the transition to happen after the upfront to deliver results."

Turner's decision to join Univision was first reported by Adweek.