According to Variety, the Walt Disney Company’s chief diversity officer has left the company.
Disney’s chief diversity officer is leaving the company
Variety received an internal memo from Disney HR director Sonia Coleman which reads:
To our extended DEI and HR team,
I am writing to let you know that Latondra Newton has decided to leave The Walt Disney Company to pursue other endeavors.
Since joining the company in 2017, Latondra has led the company’s strategic diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including working with stakeholders across the company to spread people’s stories across the world. She is committed to ensuring that everyone sees themselves and their life experiences represented in a meaningful and authentic way.
I know you all join me in thanking Latondra for her many contributions, including the lasting impact she has had on our people and our culture. Working with all of you and so many others, she has inspired countless cast and staff members to create lasting change and help create a world where we can all feel safe and where we all belong.
Latondra’s direct reports will report to Julie Merges on an interim basis pending the determination of a new DEI head. I would like to thank Julie for leading this team along with her Talent Acquisition organization. In addition, Shelby Curry and DEI’s internal communications team will continue to report to Carrie Brown in her role as head of internal communications and engagement for the company.
Thank you all for your continued contribution to our DEI efforts. I know we can count on you to drive this important work forward during this leadership transition.
Thankful,
sonia
Newton retires from the Walt Disney Company after six years. According to an insider, Newton is set to join the board of another company in the near future while also devoting more time to her own creative venture.
This comes just days after another Disney executive, CFO Christine McCarthy, also resigned.
Christine McCarthy resigns as Disney chief financial officer; Kevin Lansberry takes on the role of interim CFO
The Walt Disney Company’s senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, Christine M. McCarthy, will step down and take a leave of absence for family reasons, and veteran Disney executive Kevin Lansberry, Disney’s executive vice president and chief financial officer Parks, Experiences and Products will serve as the company’s interim CFO effective Saturday, July 1, Bob Iger, chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company, announced today. McCarthy will continue to serve as a strategic advisor to the company during her departure and will assist in identifying and hiring a long-term successor to ensure a smooth and successful transition.
“Christine McCarthy is one of America’s most admired financial executives, and her impact on The Walt Disney Company during her 23 years of dedicated service cannot be overstated,” said Iger. “Christine has served as a key strategic anchor during a time of great change, and she and I have discussed her desire to ensure an orderly and successful CFO succession prior to the company’s transition to the next Chief Executive Officer. She is stepping down from her CFO position as she is on leave for family reasons, but has kindly offered to take up an advisory position to help her successor assume the responsibilities she has performed so expertly over these many years. “
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity Bob has given me to serve as CFO of this legendary company and proud of the work my talented team has done to enable Disney to deliver on the business opportunities that lie ahead use,” McCarthy said. “Although I am leaving the position of CFO, I look forward to helping with the transition and will always be committed to the success of my extended Disney family, who have demonstrated time and time again that determination, teamwork and the pursuit of excellence is an unstoppable.” combination are.” .”
Lansberry has agreed to serve as interim CFO while a thorough search for internal and external candidates for a permanent replacement is conducted. “Kevin has been with the company for more than three decades and is a trusted proxy for Christine,” said Iger. “Having competently served as CFO in our largest division since 2017, he has my full confidence and I look forward to working with him on this transition.”
As interim CFO, Lansberry will oversee the company’s global finance organization, which includes corporate alliances and partnerships, corporate real estate, corporate strategy and business development, corporate governance, corporate technology, financial planning and analysis, global product and labor standards, security, investor relations, risk management, tax and treasury.
During his time at Disney Parks, Lansberry held various leadership positions in finance, business development, alliances and operations. In 2017, he assumed the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, which was expanded to include Consumer Products in 2018. In this role, Lansberry was responsible for financial planning and 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, etc. 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. Before joining Disney, she was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Imperial Bancorp from 1997 to 2000. She also held various senior finance and planning positions at First Interstate Bancorp from 1981 to 1996. She serves on the boards 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 one of Treasury & Risk’s “100 Most Influential People in Finance” multiple times. She received Treasury Today’s 2015 Adam Smith Award “Woman of the Year” and was honored by the Entertainment Diversity Council in 2016 as one of the “Top 50 Most Influential Women in Entertainment”.
“Among her many contributions to the company, I particularly admire the generous mentor she has given Christine to so many of her colleagues, including countless women, over the years,” said Iger. “She has opened doors, created opportunities and served as a role model for women at all levels of the business – not just at Disney but around the world.”
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