Mumbai: The Walt Disney Co has announced the appointment of Tony Chambers as president, of its EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) operations, as part of a strategic restructuring of its entertainment businesses in the region. Chambers will report to Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, as well as ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro. Chambers will be vacating his current job as head of global theatrical distribution. Current EMEA president Jan Koeppen will step down in February as part of the transition.
In the new structure, several of the company’s lines of business in the region, including direct-to-consumer, ad sales, platform distribution, networks, local original content, studio marketing, theatrical distribution and sports will now report directly in to the global business leaders of those businesses, who will have P&L oversight for their respective regional businesses in EMEA.
The regional president – in this case, Chambers - 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 Bergman, Walden, and Pitaro 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. 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.”
Expressing his enthusiasm for the new role, Chambers commented, “I’m truly honored to be leading the world-class EMEA team in this new capacity. 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.”
Chambers, who is Irish, has been with Disney for over 30 years and has had a lot of experience in the EMEA having looked after studio sales and distribution, theatrical, home entertainment in various capacities for either Europe or the region.
Outgoing president Jan Koeppen reflected on his tenure, saying, “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.”
As Tony Chambers steps into his new role, Disney is set to announce a new global head of theatrical distribution in the near future, further strengthening its leadership team for continued growth and innovation in the region and beyond.
