The Walt Disney Company’s Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Disney Experiences, Gail Evans, has passed away.

©Disney | Walt Disney Company Headquarters

Disney journalist Scott Gustin reported the news on October 30th.

Evans joined The Walt Disney Company two years ago. Before coming to Disney, Evans worked at Mercer, a financial services company.

Gail Evans, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Disney Experiences, has passed away.

Evans joined Disney in 2022 after working at Mercer where she was named the company's first Global Chief Digital Officer in 2018. pic.twitter.com/scMSJqRTTa

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) October 30, 2024

Gail Evans acted as the Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Technology Officer for Disney Experiences and led a team dedicated to the development and implementation of digital and technology strategies for Disney Experiences businesses. This included products and experiences like MagicBand+ and Hey Disney!, which have grown to be used throughout the Walt Disney World Resort.

Evans previously acted as the first Chief Digital Officer at Mercer and has held senior leadership positions at Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and Bank of America. She also previously worked at Eastman Kodak Company, serving as the CIO of Eastman Kodak’s Consumer Digital business. She received a bachelor’s degree from Nazareth College and an MBA from the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School. According to Disney, she also “proudly holds an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Nazareth College.”

©Disney

Evans was recognized as a finalist for the MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award in 2019, and in 2018, Evans received the Phenom Award from the Digital Diversity Network, honoring trailblazers in the digital media and technology field. In addition to several other awards and recognitions, Evans was part of the Netflix documentary Working: What We Do All Day. 

Outside of work, Evans was passionate about mentoring the next generation of women leaders in technology. She led programs to help build a more inclusive workplace and was involved with MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research, where she helped connect academic research with real-world practices.

Our thoughts are with Evans and her family at this time.