The Walt Disney Company has been in a transitional phase as of late.
©Disney | Walt Disney Company Headquarters
Since CEO Bob Iger’s return, multiple executives have come and gone, including Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy, who stepped down due to personal reasons. An interim CFO was brought on to take her place, but now, it looks like Disney has officially filled the role.
The Walt Disney Company has named Hugh F. Johnston as the new Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
The Walt Disney Company Names Hugh Johnston As Senior Executive Vice President And Chief Financial Officer. https://t.co/rEbbTwMPib pic.twitter.com/YGjMXzqPCT
— The Walt Disney Company (@WaltDisneyCo) November 6, 2023
Disney shared in the announcement that Hugh F. Johnston will assume the role effective December 4th, 2023. He currently serves as Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of PepsiCo, where he has held numerous roles over 34 years at the company.
©Disney
Johnston will report directly to CEO Bob Iger and “will lead the company’s worldwide finance organization, which includes corporate real estate, corporate strategy and business development, enterprise controllership, enterprise technology, financial planning and analysis, global product and labor standards, global security, investor relations, risk management, tax, and treasury.”
Walt Disney Company Headquarters ©LA Times
“Hugh’s well-earned reputation as one of the best CFOs in America and his wealth of leadership experience in both financial and operational roles overseeing a diverse portfolio of top global brands make him a perfect addition to Disney’s senior leadership team,” Iger shared of the new CFO. “His expertise will serve Disney and its shareholders well as we continue the transformative work we are doing to drive growth and value creation.”
©Disney
“Disney is such a storied company, with the most beloved brands in the world and a strong financial foundation to support the company of the future that Bob and his team are building,” shared Johnston on his new endeavor.
“Very few companies have withstood the test of time that Disney has, making the company as rare as it is special. I share Bob’s enthusiasm for Disney’s future, and I am incredibly excited to join this management team in this moment of opportunity and possibility.”
Disney World
Johnston has served as CFO of PepsiCo since 2010 and “has been responsible for providing strategic financial leadership for PepsiCo, including ensuring the company’s strategy creates shareholder value,” which is something Iger has said Disney is also focused on.
In addition to working for PepsiCo, Johnston is currently a member of the board and chair of the audit committee of both Microsoft Corp. and HCA Healthcare. He is a director for the Peterson Institute for International Economics, has a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
©Disney
The CFO role is currently being held by Kevin Lansberry, who stepped in temporarily after previous CFO Christine McCarthy stepped down.
We’ll continue to keep an eye out for more news from The Walt Disney Company, so stay tuned to DFB for more.
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Mr. Johnston is a good hire. Well done. Please hire a new CEO of this caliber, pronto, so Mr. Iger can return to his retirement, sooner rather than later!
Interesting comments. Disney’s new CFO will “serve Disney and its shareholders well.”
Not the guests and not those who buy Disney’s products and services. Not the cast members at the Parks who are notoriously underpaid (so much so that Abagail Disney has done a documentary on it).
Someday, Disney will hire a CEO and CFO whose expertise will serve to return Disney to it’s founder’s management philosophy of investing in the company, its guests, and its employees, rather then extracting value for shareholders who contribute nothing to Disney (money, time, nor talents unlike Disney’s employees, guests, and customers who are Disney’s real investors).
If Walt Disney were CEO now, his compensation (based on his 1965 comp) would be $3.4 million. Because he believed that the company was not a piggy bank.
How much is Disney paying it’s new CFO? More than Walt?
I love Disney. I just wish they’d hire managers who loved it too.
I admire this blog a lot as it doesn’t just post praise comments, but allows for more in depth comments from those of us who love Disney enough to hold Disney to the higher standards that Walt did.