The Walt Disney Company,commonly known as Disney,is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank,California. Disney was founded on October 16,1923,by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as Disney Brothers Studio;it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to the Walt Disney Company in 1986. In 1928,Disney established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the short film Steamboat Willie. The film used synchronized sound to become the first post-produced sound cartoon,and popularized Mickey Mouse,who became Disney's mascot and corporate icon.
Miramax LLC,also known as Miramax Films,is an American independent film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19,1979,by Bob and Harvey Weinstein,and based in Los Angeles,California. Today,it is owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global.
Pixar Animation Studios is an American animation studio based in Emeryville,California,known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Since 2006,Pixar has been a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios,a division of Disney Entertainment,a segment of the Walt Disney Company.
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company founded by filmmaker George Lucas in 1971 in San Rafael,California,though most of the company's operations were moved to San Francisco in 2005. It has been a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios since 2012 and is best known for creating and producing the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises,as well as its leadership in developing special effects,sound,and computer animation for films.
Michael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney,Eisner was president of rival film studio Paramount Pictures from 1976 to 1984,and had brief stints at the major television networks NBC,CBS,and ABC.
Roy Edward Disney KCSG was an American businessman. He was the longtime senior executive for the Walt Disney Company,which was founded by his uncle,Walt Disney,and his father,Roy O. Disney. At the time of his death,he held more than 16 million shares,and served as a consultant for the company,as well as director emeritus for the board of directors. During his tenure,he organized ousting of the company's top two executives:Ron W. Miller in 1984 and Michael Eisner in 2005.
A chief operating officer (COO) is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization,i.e.,personnel,resources,and logistics. COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the CEO,and reports directly to them and acts on their behalf in their absence.
The Walt Disney Studios is a major division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of The Walt Disney Company best known for housing its multifaceted film studio divisions. Founded on October 16,1923,and based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank,California,it is the seventh-oldest global film studio and the fifth-oldest in the United States,a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and one of the "Big Five" major film studios.
Disney Experiences is one of the three major divisions of The Walt Disney Company. It was founded on April 1,1971,exactly six months before the opening of Walt Disney World.
Robert Allen Iger is an American media business executive who serves as the chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) between 1994 and 1995 and as president and chief operating officer (COO) of Capital Cities/ABC,from 1995 until its acquisition by Disney in 1996. Iger was named president of Disney in 2000 and succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005,until his contract expired in 2020. He then served as executive chairman until his retirement from the company on December 31,2021. After his exit from the company,Iger served,at the company's request,as an advisor to his successor. Iger was awarded $2 million per year for such advice. However,at the request of Disney's board of directors,Iger returned to Disney as CEO on November 20,2022,following the unscheduled and immediate dismissal of his appointed successor,Bob Chapek. In July 2023,Disney renewed Iger's contract until 2026.
James A. "Jay" Rasulo is an American executive who was the Senior Executive VP and CFO of The Walt Disney Company. On June 30,2015,Christine McCarthy was announced as his successor. Prior to being appointed CFO,he was chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts from October 2005 until December 2009 when he switched positions with Thomas O. Staggs. He was made the president of the theme park division in September 2002,replacing Paul Pressler.
Alan Frederick Horn is an American entertainment industry executive. Horn became president and COO of Warner Bros. from 1999 to 2012. Horn next served as the chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 2012 to 2020. During his tenure at Disney,Horn also served as the chief creative officer from 2019 to 2021. Horn agreed to depart from Disney,effective December 31,2021.
Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED),formerly Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer &International (DTCI),was one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments consisting of Disney's streaming services and overseas media businesses,formed in March 2018. As part of the segment's formation,Disney Streaming Services was placed under Direct-to-Consumer &International.
Pandora –The World of Avatar is a themed area inspired by James Cameron's Avatar located within Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake,Florida,near Orlando. Set a generation after the events of the Avatar films,the area is based upon the fictional habitable exomoon,Pandora,and features Pandora's floating mountains,alien wildlife,and bioluminescent plants. Spanning 12 acres (4.9 ha),Pandora –The World of Avatar includes two major attractions,Avatar Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey,as well as retail and dining outlets.
Kevin A. Mayer is an American business executive. He is currently the co-founder and co-CEO of Candle Media. He was briefly CEO of TikTok,and COO of its parent company ByteDance. Prior to joining TikTok,he was a senior executive at Disney for more than 15 years,including as head of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer &International.
Christine McCarthy is an American businesswoman and the former chief financial officer (CFO) of The Walt Disney Company.
Robert Alan Chapek is an American former media executive who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from 2020 to 2022. He joined Masimo's board of directors in 2024.
Kareem Daniel is an American businessman and former media executive at The Walt Disney Company. During his tenure at Disney,he held executive roles in charge of film and television,sports,streaming,theme parks,and consumer products. Prior to Disney,Daniel worked in equity research and investment banking at Goldman Sachs,having begun his career as an electrical engineer. He is also on the board of directors for McDonald's.
Candle Media is a Blackstone-backed,Los Angeles–based media company co-founded by former Disney executives Kevin A. Mayer and Thomas O. Staggs. Candle Media owns the companies Moonbug Entertainment,Hello Sunshine,and the production company of Israeli thriller series Fauda,Faraway Road Productions. It also owned a minority stake on Westbrook Inc.
RenéRechtman is a Danish entrepreneur,businessman,and investor. He is the founder and CEO of Moonbug Entertainment and former president of international operations at Maker Studios.
