Disney Restructures Its Entertainment Division as Dana Walden Prepares to Assume New Role
With Dana Walden set to assume the role of president and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Company, Disney is restructuring its Entertainment division.
“The strength of Disney has always been the emotional connection between our stories and the people who love them,” said Walden.
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“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.”
The New Entertainment Structure
Going forward, Alan Bergman will continue to serve as Disney Entertainment chairman, maintaining shared oversight of Direct-to-Consumer with Walden.
Photo: Walt Disney Company
As part of the restructuring, Joe Earley and Adam Smith have been named co-presidents of Direct to Consumer. They will report to Walden and Bergman, sharing responsibility for strategy and financial performance across Disney+ and Hulu.
Earley will also serve as head of content strategy for Direct-to-Consumer, while Smith will continue to serve as chief product and technology officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
Photo: Disney
Also changing positions is Debra OConnell, who will move to the newly created role of chairman of Disney Entertainment Television.
Previously, OConnell oversaw news groups and networks, which will remain under her purview.
Photo: Deadline
Moving over to the Entertainment division is Sean Shoptaw, EVP of Games and Digital Entertainment. Shoptaw already oversees the company’s games business. Now, he will report to Walden.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Finally, John Landgraf, chairman of FX, will report directly to Walden.
