Disney has named Tony Chambers as President, The Walt Disney Company, EMEA, as part of a restructuring of its businesses in the region.
Chambers, who is currently global head of Theatrical Distribution, will report into Disney Entertainment Co-Chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro.
Current EMEA President Jan Koeppen is stepping down in February as part of the restructure.
As part of the restructuring, several of the company’s lines of business in the region, including Direct-to-Consumer, Ad Sales, Platform Distribution, Networks, Studio Marketing, Theatrical Distribution and Sports will now report directly into the global business leaders of those businesses, who will have P&L oversight for their respective regional businesses in EMEA.
The regional president will continue to be the company’s representative in the region and be responsible for consolidating strategic priorities and financials and coordinating teams at the regional level, leading local initiatives that span across businesses (excluding Disney Experiences), and overseeing shared service functions including human resources, communications, and finance.
“EMEA is a key region in terms of the success of our business globally, and as we realign our strategy for our entertainment businesses there, we are fortunate to transition between two fantastic leaders,” said Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, Co-Chairmen, Disney Entertainment, and Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN in a joint statement.
“Tony Chambers is a seasoned senior executive who has a highly collaborative style and stellar reputation in EMEA and across the company, and he brings a wealth of experience to this important new role. We look forward to continuing to accelerate our growth in EMEA and around the world, and we are immensely grateful for Jan’s exceptional contributions, which have made a meaningful and enduring difference to this team and the company during his tenure.”
“I’m truly honoured to be leading the world-class EMEA team in this new capacity,” Chambers commented. “It’s a dynamic region that has gone through incredible, positive change over the past several years and I’m very eager now to build on that momentum.”
Commenting on his departure Koeppen said: “I’m grateful for the incredible six years I have had at Disney, working with some of the most talented and creative people in the industry through a period of profound transformation and growth as we launched and established Disney+ in the region. I leave with a full heart and with great pride in the exceptional Disney EMEA team.”
