Disney's Dana Walden shakes up senior team: John Landgraf, Simran Sethi promoted

Dana Walden strengthens her senior management team.

Following news in early February that she was being promoted to Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment , Walden streamlined her reporting structure,

John Landgraf and Simran Sethi both added responsibility.

Landgraf has long been a creative powerhouse at FX, adding renowned labels Nat Geo and Onyx Collective to his repertoire. As Walden noted in her internal memo, Onyx remains a major priority for Disney, as evidenced by its well-funded and diverse talent roster, And will go on to be played by Tara Duncan. In fact, as part of the new structure, Duncan will focus entirely on Onyx, with her Freeform programming responsibilities transferred to Sethi, who will also continue her role at ABC Entertainment.

National Geographic chiefs Courteney Monroe and Duncan will report to Landgraf, who will continue as one of the new structures following CEO Bob Iger’s swift dissolution of Disney’s media and entertainment distribution report directly to employee Walden. Monroe, whose label just received its third Oscar nomination for Fire of Love

, will now be responsible for all aspects of the Nat Geo brand, including its magazines, digital efforts and original content strategy.

For Sethi, now executive vice president of programming and content strategy at ABC and Freeform, the extra authority marks her return to a youthful brand she helped launch. She will continue to report to Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich, who also counts Disney Branded TV President Ayo Davis as one of his direct reports.

With the dissolution of DMED, Debra O’Connell, President of Network and Television Business Operations, has been added to Walden’s team and will now add research, labor relations and TV business operations hat.

Eric Schrier, newly appointed president of Disney Television Studios, will oversee the global original television strategy, working closely with Disney’s regional leaders.

Below is the full memo from Walden, his own star rising under Iger.

Dear Colleagues,

Since Disney Entertainment was announced, I’ve been thinking about how to organize my team in a way that would allow me to work with Ellen and focus on my newly expanded role. I will continue to rely on the same incredible leaders who have produced success after success across our platform and our rich library, but with a few changes to our structure, outlined below:

The Onyx Collective remains a huge priority, and as its impressive creator roster and series continue to grow, Tara Duncan will now focus exclusively on Onyx.

National Geographic Content was recently nominated for a third Oscar, and its impressive series and documentaries have attracted some big-name stars. Courteney Monroe will now oversee all aspects of the brand, including its digital footprint and iconic magazine, as well as its original content strategy.
Tara and Courteney will now report directly to John Landgraf, combining the strengths of three renowned brands.
Free programming and development will combine as Tara’s focus shifts to Onyx in partnership with ABC Entertainment and Simran Sethi will oversee both. This represents Simran’s return to the brand she helped create. She will continue to report to Craig Erwich. For the past six months, Ayo Davis and Craig have been on Disney Branded Television s

treaming

• o Primitives. Ayo will continue to report to Craig on streaming, and the structure will now expand to include development and programming for Disney Channel and Disney Junior.

Debra OConnell, who recently joined my leadership team, will continue to oversee the networks and ABC-owned stations and will add research, labor relations and

TV business operations are within the scope of her authority. Disney Television Studios will continue to be led by Eric Schrier, who will expand his remit to include our global original television strategy and work closely with our talented regional leaders.

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Great stories are the lifeblood of our company and I will be in close contact with the creative side of our business. As we begin this new chapter together, I have every confidence in this team of proven and formidable leaders. I am so grateful to Bob for restructuring and restructuring our company in such a meaningful way.

I want you all to know how much I appreciate your passion and dedication to excellence Pursuit, which will be key to our success in the months and years to come.

Warm Regards,

Dana

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