BURBANK, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dana Walden, incoming president and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), today announced the new leadership structure for Disney Entertainment, bringing together the company’s streaming, film, and television businesses along with its growing games and digital entertainment division. Consumers today want to engage with Disney’s storytelling and characters in a multitude of ways – whether on Disney+, in theaters, or through the digital games they love to play. With this unified approach, Disney can deliver the world’s most beloved entertainment to fans across the many ways they choose to enjoy it.
“The strength of Disney has always been the emotional connection between our stories and the people who love them,” said Walden. “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. I’m very fortunate to work alongside such a passionate and talented group of leaders who are driven by the joy of storytelling, and I’m especially excited to work with our new CEO Josh D’Amaro as we enter this next chapter together.”
As previously announced, Walden will become president and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Company on March 18. In this new role – a first for the enterprise – Walden will report directly to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro.
Walden’s new senior leadership team is as follows:
Alan Bergman, chairman of Disney Entertainment, Studios, will continue overseeing all aspects of the company’s world-class film studios including production, marketing and distribution, and maintaining shared oversight of Direct to Consumer alongside Walden.
Joe Earley and Adam Smith will become co-presidents of Direct to Consumer, sharing responsibility for strategy and financial performance across Disney+ and Hulu, reporting to Walden and Bergman. Earley will also serve as head of content strategy for Direct to Consumer, while Smith continues as chief product and technology officer for Disney Entertainment, and for ESPN, where he will continue to report to ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro.
Debra OConnell will assume the newly created role of chairman of Disney Entertainment Television, overseeing the television brands, including ABC Entertainment, Disney Branded Television, Hulu Originals, National Geographic Content and creative for 20th Television and 20th Television Animation. She will also continue to oversee ABC News and the ABC Owned Television Stations.
Sean Shoptaw, EVP, Games and Digital Entertainment, along with his organization, will now join Disney Entertainment, reporting to Walden. Shoptaw oversees the company’s Games business and its collaboration with Epic Games, developing a Disney universe connected to Fortnite, and brings deep insight into the central role that games play in today’s entertainment landscape. By combining the power of its creative engines and games, Disney can bring immersive new ways to tell stories to audiences across platforms in even more engaging ways.
John Landgraf, Chairman of FX, will continue to report directly to Walden.
Asad Ayaz, Disney’s Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, leads teams across the company’s business segments. Ayaz will report to incoming Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro and Walden.
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