Dana Walden Unveils Her Disney Entertainment Leadership Team

Dana Walden, incoming President and Chief Creative Officer of The Walt Disney Company as of Wednesday, has revealed the new leadership structure of Disney Entertainment. She laid out the changes in a memo, which you can read below.

In addition to television, which she oversaw; film, which she took over in her new role; and direct-to-consumer, which she co-ran with Disney’s film chief Alan Bergman; Walden’s purview now will include Games and Digital Entertainment, previously under incoming Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro, which will become part of Disney Entertainment, with Sean Shoptaw now reporting to Walden.

Bergman and Shoptaw are members of Walden’s new leadership team of direct reports that also includes Debra OConnell, John Landgraf, Joe Earley & Adam Smith, and Asad Ayaz.

There had been questions whether Bergman would stay on as Chairman of Disney Entertainment, Studios, under Walden. He will, as the two are said to be getting along great, and he also will continue to share oversight of Direct To Consumer (Disney+ and Hulu) with her.

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With Walden expanding her turf as CCO, there also had been a lot of speculation whether she would elevate one of her senior executives on the TV side to streamline the operation and reduce the number of her direct reports. She has, and that is Debra OConnell, previously President, ABC News Group & Disney Entertainment Networks, who has been named to the newly created role of chairman of Disney Entertainment Television.

OConnell now will be in charge of the television brands, including ABC Entertainment, Disney Branded Television, Hulu Originals, National Geographic Content and creative for 20th Television and 20th Television Animation, in addition to her current duties overseeing ABC News and the ABC Owned Television Stations.

Her promotion only slightly impacts John Landgraf, who remains Chairman of FX and will continue reporting directly to Walden and maintains oversight of Onyx Collective. He no will longer oversee Nat Geo, a brand that joined his portfolio in 2023. The network over the last couple of years pulled out of original scripted programming, Landgraf and his team’s top area of expertise.

There will be a change for Eric Schrier, President of Disney Television Studios, who will now report to Joe Earley, having previously reported to Walden.

DTC President Earley now will serve as Co-President of the division with Adam Smith as both report to Walden. Earley heads content strategy for DTC, which explains Schrier’s alignment with him. Schrier serves as Head of Global Original Television Strategy, overseeing the development and production of international shows for Disney+.

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Meanwhile, Smith will continue in his current role as Chief Product and Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and for ESPN, where he will continue to report to ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. Putting him and Earley on equal footing is an indication of tech’s crucial role in streaming.

There is no mention in Walden’s memo of another former direct report of hers, Craig Erwich, President of Disney Television Group. Given OConnell’s new responsibilities, Erwich may be reporting to her; that has not been confirmed.

Asad Ayaz remains Disney’s Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, reporting to Walden.

“The strength of Disney has always been the emotional connection between our stories and the people who love them,” Walden said. “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.”

Here is her company email on the restructuring:

Team,
This is a momentous week for the company, as Josh becomes our new CEO, and I want to thank Bob for his remarkable leadership and the strong foundation he leaves for all of us. I’m incredibly excited to work with Josh and an extraordinary group of leaders to build on all our recent success as we begin this new chapter together.

As I step into my new role, I’m pleased to share the new structure of Disney Entertainment, which integrates our games business together with our streaming, film, and television teams, aligning Disney’s world-class creative engines and platforms. Fans 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. 

My leadership team for Disney Entertainment is as follows:

Alan Bergman, as Chairman of Disney Entertainment, Studios, will continue overseeing all aspects of our industry-leading film studios including production, marketing, and distribution. Together with Bob, Alan has played a central role in the success of our film business, which produced three billion-dollar films in the last year alone and has led the global box office for nine out of the past 10 years. Alan’s steady and visionary leadership will continue to guide these efforts going forward.

Alan and I will maintain oversight of Disney+ and Hulu, which will be led by Joe Earley and Adam Smith as Co-Presidents of Direct to Consumer. Joe and Adam will share responsibility for strategy and financial performance across Disney+ and Hulu, enabling a more unified approach to content and partnership strategy, product, and technology. Joe, who also will serve as Head of Content Strategy for DTC, and Adam, who continues as Chief Product and Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN, have done an exceptional job helping to shape and grow our streaming business, and they bring a powerful combination of creative, strategic, and technological expertise to this next phase for Disney+ and Hulu. Eric Schrier, who has done terrific work building out our local originals slate, will now report to Joe. This puts our international local originals, which are exclusive to Disney+, inside our DTC organization, enabling a more effective international content strategy. Eric will also oversee the strategy for alternative forms of content and maintain oversight of television Business Affairs, Production, and Labor Relations.

Debra OConnell has been named Chairman of Disney Entertainment Television. I’m thrilled that Debra will be taking on this newly created role, overseeing our television brands, including ABC Entertainment, Disney Branded Television, Hulu Originals, National Geographic Content, and the creative strategy for 20th Television and 20th Television Animation. She will also continue to oversee ABC News and the ABC Owned Television Stations. 

John Landgraf, Chairman of FX, will continue reporting directly to me, and maintain oversight of Onyx Collective. Under John’s leadership, FX has become one of the industry’s most prestigious and critically acclaimed brands, delivering shows that consistently shape the cultural conversation — most recently with the breakout success of Love Story.

Sean Shoptaw, EVP, Games and Digital Entertainment, and his organization are moving from Disney Experiences to Disney Entertainment. This is an important, strategic shift that aligns our games business more closely with Disney+ and Hulu, enabling us to expand the ways fans can engage with our stories, characters, and worlds. I’ve been very impressed with Sean. He has strong command of the tremendous opportunities ahead, including our collaboration with Epic Games, developing a Disney universe connected to Fortnite — and I’m looking forward to this exciting new partnership.
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Asad Ayaz, Disney’s Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, will be instrumental in all this work. Asad leads the unparalleled marketing teams across the company’s business segments. He and his teams have a stellar track record of creating bold, inventive campaigns — most recently with the launch of Hoppers and looking ahead to The Devil Wears Prada 2 — that continue to set the bar for marketing across the globe. Asad will report to Josh and me. 

Through all of this, our focus is on empowering great creators to tell the next generation of Disney stories and bringing our powerful IP to fans wherever they are — whether through streaming, film, television, games, or immersive experiences. This new structure is designed to strengthen collaboration, foster an even more seamless environment for our creative partners, and build on our rich legacy as the best storytelling company in the world. 

I’m extremely confident in this team and in the remarkable talent across this organization. As I’ve said before, this is truly a dream job for me and I’m grateful to be doing this work with all of you. Your creativity, commitment, and passion are what make this company so special. Thank you for all you do.
Dana