- Disney CFO Christine McCarthy is restructuring its finance teams, according to a leaked memo.
- Thousands of Disney employees will be laid off next week, Bloomberg reports, across film, TV, parks, and corporate.
- The financial consolidation is part of CEO Bob Iger’s effort to cut $5.5 billion in costs.
Disney’s chief financial officer, Christine McCarthy, has named a new finance team that combines staff from Disney Entertainment and ESPN. The new structure is outlined in a memo from McCarthy that Insider reviewed.
McCarthy shared personnel details this week, naming Bryan Castellani as the new chief financial officer of Disney Entertainment and ESPN. Disney Entertainment is managed by co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden. Jimmy Pitaro is the chairman of ESPN. (Read McCarthy’s memo below.)
A Disney spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Castellani is EVP, finance, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED), a unit that has been dismantled as returning CEO Bob Iger creates a new structure that gives inside executives more control over their P&L. Under previous CEO Bob Chapek, who was fired in November, the company had centralized budgeting and distribution responsibilities under DMED executives.
Castellani will report to Bergman, Walden, and Pitaro, the memo said. ESPN’s finances have been integrated more closely with Disney Entertainment as part of Iger’s efforts to reduce costs by up to $5.5 billion. The financial merger may signal that there are no plans to divest ESPN, a move that some observers and analysts had predicted, although Iger said this year that the sports network would not be sold.
Under Castellani, Tom Hennessy will run finance for ESPN, including the company’s global sports businesses, the memo said.
The changes are aimed at reorganizing teams to “serve the new company structure and deliver on our cost-saving efforts,” McCarthy wrote, adding, “While our changes -or necessary to position the company for future success, I recognize that change can be full of difficult decisions, conservations, and realities.” McCarthy noted that realigning a finance team can help business leaders get a more holistic picture and “strengthen collaboration.”
The latest round of Disney staff cuts is set to hit ESPN and other divisions, from theme parks to corporate, starting Monday, April 24. Bloomberg reports that 15% of entertainment division staff will be cut, citing people familiar with the plans.
Under Castellani, Lukas Wickart will continue to oversee finance for the direct-to-consumer streaming businesses Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, and Star. Separately, Justin Warbrooke, who has been CFO of DTC and International, according to his LinkedIn profile, will take a direct-to-consumer role reporting to Joe Earley, the former president of Hulu who in the early part of April named president, Direct-To. -Consumer, Disney Entertainment. Warbrooke is a senior member of Chapek’s core management team, according to a company insider.
Trisha Husson, who was promoted in January 2022 to run strategy and business for Disney General Entertainment – the TV businesses under Peter Rice before his sudden exit last summer – has now been moved to a unnamed role in the strategy and operations of television businesses, according to the memo.
Greg Richart, who was SVP finance at Disney TV, will leave the company, according to the memo. Richart joined the company in 2003, according to his LinkedIn bio.
Paul Shurgot will oversee finance and strategy for the studios, including production finance, marketing, and content evaluation. Chris Arroyo will continue to lead the finance for the distribution platform with Dave Czerniewski, for the financial planning of the studios; both will report to Shurgot, the memo read.
Read part of Disney CFO Christine McCarthy’s memo outlining new financial leadership and divisional remits:
We are now aligning the Disney Entertainment and ESPN Finance organizations with the company’s new operating model.
This new Finance structure is designed to provide our creative and distribution teams with strong financial and strategic support, creating clear lines of responsibility. I want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to organize our teams to serve the new company structure and deliver our cost savings efforts.
Today, I’m pleased to share more details about our senior Finance leadership for Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
Bryan Castellani named CFO, Disney Entertainment and ESPN. In this capacity, Bryan will report to Alan, Dana, and Jimmy, with dual reporting to me. He will lead core business and financial planning functions in support of our content and distribution teams.
The following leaders will report to Bryan and work closely with their division chairs and their teams:
- Lukas Wickart will manage finance for our direct-to-consumer streaming businesses.
- Paul Shurgot will manage finance and strategy for our Studios businesses, including production finance, marketing, and content valuation. Chris Arroyo will continue to lead finance for Platform Distribution, as will Dave Czerniewski for the Studios’ financial planning activities, and both will report to Paul.
- Karen Sack will oversee finance for our entertainment television businesses, including TV studios and ABC News finance, marketing, and networks planning.
- Tom Hennessy will oversee finance for ESPN, including segment consolidation for our global sports businesses.
- Nick Lewerke will oversee Content Planning & Analysis.
- Rohit Shah will handle finance for Ad Sales.
- Jeff Grenn will oversee segment consolidation for Disney Entertainment, and finance in support of Aaron LaBerge’s technology organization at Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
The following leaders will continue to be responsible for finance outside the US and will report to their regional presidents with dual reporting to Bryan:
- Mani Rangarajan – India
A more integrated financial planning team will allow us to better reflect and operationalize our new structure, while delivering on our mission of proactive, meaningful decision support. As a finance team, we are also well positioned to provide our business leaders with a holistic perspective that will strengthen collaboration and the best outcomes for TWDC.
As we realign our finances, I would like to recognize and thank the following leaders:
Justin Warbrooke will move into a direct-to-consumer reporting role in the paper to Joe Early. I thank Justin for his leadership in building our direct-to-consumer businesses from the ground up and look forward to a continued partnership in growing our streaming platforms.
Additionally, Trisha Husson will move into a strategy and operations role for our television businesses, reporting to Eric Schrier. I am also grateful for Trisha’s leadership over the past few years in integrating our entertainment television businesses and growing our industry-leading television content portfolio.
After nearly 20 years, Greg Richart decided to pursue other opportunities and work closely with Karen to transition her responsibilities. Greg has been an important financial leader to us and we sincerely appreciate his contributions to many businesses.
I am confident that we are building a more aligned and collaborative team that will enable our businesses and functions and help the company achieve its stated goals. Please join me in supporting leaders who are taking on new roles and additional responsibilities. Each will share more about their respective teams and structures in the near future.
While our changes are necessary to position the company for future success, I recognize that change can be fraught with difficult decisions, conversations, and realities. There is much work to be done, and I appreciate your continued efforts, tenacity, and extraordinary contributions during this time.
best,
Christine