EXCLUSIVE: Trojan Horse Media, the Emmy-nominated production company behind the hit Walter Mercado Netflix doc Mucho Mucho Amor and HBO Max’s Menudo: Forever Young, has set a trio of key appointments.
Award-winning documentary filmmaker and creative technologist Joey Daoud has been named Head of AI, a newly created role as part of the company’s strategy to integrate artificial intelligence into its creative and production processes in an ethical manner. Daoud’s work has appeared on Netflix, Hulu, and National Geographic. He worked closely alongside Trojan Horse Media founders Alex Fumero and Kareem Tabsh as cinematographer on their doc Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado.
The appointment is part of a strategic partnership with VP Land, the media publication, technology company, and YouTube channel founded by Daoud to explore the intersection of AI and storytelling. At Trojan Horse Media, he will lead efforts to bring cutting-edge AI tools into development, production, and post.
“Joey and I have been collaborators for over a decade,” said Tabsch. “His technical brilliance and storytelling instincts make him the ideal partner to help us explore what’s next.”
Also in a newly created role, Margaret Katcher has been named Head of Audio, where she will oversee Trojan Horse’s growing podcast portfolio. An award-winning producer, journalist, and story editor, Katcher has developed and led audio projects, including work as a freelance producer at Trojan Horse Media.
Her credits include Crumbs, which was named Spotify Best New Podcast of 2022, Apple Podcasts ‘Shows We Loved’ in 2022, and won a 2024 Signal Award; Silenced: The Radio Murders, winner of the National Press Club’s Arthur E. Rowse Award; and The Trafficked Podcast with Mariana Van Zeller for National Geographic. She also hosts the Emmy-winning science video series Deep Look for KQED and PBS Digital Studios, which explores the unseen worlds around us in ultra-close detail.
“There’s nothing Margaret can’t do,” shared Fumero. “She brings journalistic rigor, charm on and behind the mic, and the kind of sensitivity that makes her an exceptional storyteller. She’s the perfect person to lead our audio division.”
In addition to the two new roles, Elizabeth Schuetzle has been promoted to Development Coordinator, supporting the company’s film, TV, and audio projects in active development. The company touts how Schuetzle has been “instrumental in research, pitch strategy, and cross-functional coordination since joining the team.”
Fumero and Tabsch founded Trojan Horse Media in 2022 following the whirlwind success of their Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado. The documentary does a deep dive into the life of the titular flamboyant astrologer, beloved and revered by Latino families for multiple generations. His TV segments, which originally aired daily on the Univision news series Primer Impacto, featured predictions and advice that became appointment television every afternoon.
Additionally, Trojan Horse Media is behind the Emmy-nominated Razing Liberty Square for PBS’s Independent Lens; Menudo: Forever Young for HBO Max, about the boy band and the members who have accused multiple people of sexual assault, including group founder Edgardo Díaz; the upcoming documentary Naked Ambition, which will be in theaters this fall; Take It Away: The Birth of Tejano Hollywood, currently in festivals; and the podcasts Crumbs and More Than a Movie.
Fumero also serves as the showrunner of the FX and Disney+ Latin America docuseries Bienvenidos a Necaxa. The series follows Mexican soccer club Necaxa and its celebrity owners Eva Longoria, Ryan Reynolds, and Rob McElhenney, which premieres on August 7.
