Leadership Changes Continue With NEW Executive Joining Disney

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again… .

2023 seems to be the year of changes for the Walt Disney Company. Of course, we’ve seen some of these changes coming since Disney Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bob Iger’s quarter one earnings call for fiscal 2023, during which he announced that a massive “restructuring” would take place throughout the company.

Since Iger returned in November 2022, there have been a few executive shakeups. It seems this restructuring is continuing with changes in leadership, as the company just announced a new Chief Human Resources Officer.

Disney announced that Sonia Coleman was named Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer on March 13th, 2023. CEO Bob Iger announced this morning that the leadership change would be effective April 8th, 2023.

Coleman will succeed Paul Richardson, who is leaving the company after 15 years. Coleman has recently served as Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Disney Entertainment and ESPN, and is “widely respected across the company as a gifted leader and strong advocate for our employees,” according to Iger.

“Her proven expertise leading the human resources function for our general entertainment businesses and ESPN during a period of unprecedented transformation makes her the perfect choice to lead this function company-wide as we implement our new operating structure and… capitalize on the opportunities ahead,” Iger said.

Coleman was recently tasked with employee development and engagement, recruitment and compensation, organizational development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within the ESPN and entertainment realm of the company. She has also served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Disney Entertainment since 2017, as well as Vice President of Human Resources for the company as a whole since May 2016. It seems that Coleman is well-equipped for the task at hand!

Coleman attributes Disney’s success to the “talent, dedication, and enthusiasm” of the Cast Members and employees, and states that she looks forward to being their “greatest champion” as they navigate the company-wide restructuring.

What other company changes will we see soon? When we find out, we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop, so make sure to follow along. We post Disney and theme park news every day, so trust us when we say there’s plenty more where this came from! Click the link below for more on Disney’s imminent restructuring and what it could look like.