Disney has announced that the company’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Christine M. McCarthy will be stepping down from her role and taking a family medical leave of absence. She will, however, continue as a strategic advisor to the company during her leave and will assist with the process of identifying and onboarding a long-term successor to ensure a smooth and successful transition.

Over the years, Christine M. McCarthy, has spoken on many of the quarterly financial results calls and special events, sharing details about Disney’s financial aspects, including, on many occasions, about Disney’s streaming services.  Most recently, she revealed that the company would be removing $1.8 billion dollars worth of content from Disney+ and Hulu.  She is also one of the main reasons why Bob Iger returned, as she was unhappy with some of the ways former Disney CEO Bob Chapek was trying to use creative accounting to offset some Disney+ Original costs.

It was also announced that veteran Disney executive Kevin Lansberry, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, will serve as the company’s Interim CFO, effective Saturday, July 1st 2023.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement:

“Christine McCarthy is one of the most admired financial executives in America, and her impact on The Walt Disney Company during 23 years of dedicated service cannot be overstated. Christine has served as a key strategic anchor during a period of great transformation, and she and I have discussed her desire to ensure an orderly and successful CFO succession in advance of the company’s transition to its next chief executive officer. She is stepping down from her CFO role as she takes family medical leave, but has graciously offered to move into an advisory position to assist her successor in assuming the duties she has so expertly handled these many years.

Among her many contributions to the company, one of the things I admire most about Christine is the generous mentorship she has provided to so many of her colleagues over the years, including countless women. She has opened doors, created opportunities, and served as a role model for women at every level of business—not just at Disney, but around the world.”

Christine M. McCarthy added:

“I am immensely grateful for the opportunity Bob provided me to serve as CFO of this iconic company and am proud of the work my talented team has done to position Disney to capitalize on the business possibilities that lie ahead. Although I am leaving the CFO role, I look forward to helping with the transition and will always be rooting for the success of my extended Disney family, who have shown time and again that determination, teamwork and the pursuit of excellence are an unstoppable combination.”

Bob Iger also spoke about Kevin Lansberry taking over the role temporarily:

“Kevin has been with the company for more than three decades and is a trusted lieutenant to Christine. Having expertly served as CFO at our largest business segment since 2017, he has my complete confidence, and I look forward to working with him during this transition.”

As Interim CFO, Lansberry will assume oversight of the company’s worldwide finance organization, which includes corporate alliances and partnerships, 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.

During his tenure at Disney Parks, Lansberry has held a variety of leadership roles in finance, business development, alliances, and operations. He assumed the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, in 2017, which was expanded in 2018 to also include Consumer Products. In that role, Lansberry has been responsible for the financial planning and fiscal management of domestic and international theme parks and resorts, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, Walt Disney Imagineering, revenue management and analytics, global business development, and Consumer Products. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Ball State University and a Master of Business Administration from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College.

McCarthy joined Disney in 2000 as Treasurer and became Chief Financial Officer in 2015. Prior to joining Disney, she was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Imperial Bancorp from 1997–2000. She also held various executive positions in finance and planning at First Interstate Bancorp from 1981–1996. She serves on the Board of Directors of The Procter & Gamble Company and FM Global and is a trustee of the Carnegie Institution for Science. McCarthy has received numerous awards and has been named multiple times to Treasury & Risk’s “100 Most Influential People in Finance,” was the recipient of Treasury Today’s Adam Smith “Woman of the Year” Award in 2015, and was honored by the Entertainment Diversity Council in 2016 as one of the “Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment.”

Christine M. McCarthy has been a major force at the top of Disney, but with all the financial issues within the company recently, her stepping down will no doubt have a big impact on the future of Disney.

What do you think of Christine M. McCarthy stepping down?

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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