Walt Disney Co.’s incoming president and chief creative officer, Dana Walden, has unveiled her leadership team, which includes several familiar faces from the company’s film, television and marketing units.
Walden will become Disney’s first female president on Wednesday. She will report to Josh D’Amaro, who will succeed Bob Iger as Disney’s chief executive, after the company’s annual meeting with shareholders and its high-profile leadership handoff.
Walden’s senior team includes her longtime creative partner, Alan Bergman. As chairman of Disney Entertainment, Studios, Bergman will continue to oversee Disney’s film studios, including production, marketing and distribution.
Bergman also will retain oversight of Disney’s streaming programming in concert with Walden.
Disney executives Joe Earley and Adam Smith were named co-presidents of Disney Entertainment’s direct-to-consumer offerings, Disney+ and Hulu. Both executives will be responsible for strategy and financial performance and report to Walden and Bergman.
Earley and Walden worked together when they were Fox executives; Earley will also serve as head of content strategy.
Smith continues in his role as Disney Entertainment chief product and technology officer. He also will continue to collaborate with ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro on matters related to ESPN and ESPN+.
Debra OConnell will step into a newly formed role as chairman of Disney Entertainment Television.
She will have a broad TV portfolio that includes ABC Entertainment, Disney-branded cable channels, Hulu Originals as well as programming from National Geographic, 20th Television and 20th Television Animation.
OConnell will continue to oversee ABC News and the ABC-owned television stations, including KABC-TV Channel 7 in Los Angeles.
Disney’s incoming president, Dana Walden, has established her senior leadership team.
(Richard Shotwell / Invision/AP)
Sean Shoptaw, who serves as executive vice president for games and digital entertainment, and his organization will shift from Disney Experiences and into Walden’s division.
Shoptaw oversees Disney’s games business and its collaboration with Epic Games to develop a Disney universe connected to Fortnite.
John Landgraf remains chairman of FX and will continue to report directly to Walden.
Asad Ayaz, who is chief marketing and brand officer, has an influential remit across Disney’s various business segments. He will report to D’Amaro and Walden.
“The strength of Disney has always been the emotional connection between our stories and the people who love them,” Walden said in a statement. “As fans engage with Disney across more formats and platforms than ever before, we are bringing together the full power of our creative businesses to build an even more connected experience for audiences.”
