Disney’s Tony Chambers Exiting as Head of Global Theatrical Distribution, Named President of EMEA

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Following his significant contribution to boosting Disney’s box office presence, Tony Chambers is moving on to new responsibilities. He’s stepping down from his role as head of global distribution and will be relocating back to London. In this new position, he’ll oversee the conglomerate’s operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), serving as the president for these regions.

Chambers’ advancement coincides with The Walt Disney Company streamlining its regional entertainment operations to enhance unity among their worldwide business strategies.

OR

Chambers’ promotion is timed with The Walt Disney Company reorganizing its regional entertainment businesses for better alignment with their global strategic goals.

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The promotion of Chambers occurs as part of The Walt Disney Company’s efforts to unify its regional entertainment operations with their overall global strategy, which they are currently working on.

Chambers’ replacement will be named in the near future.

The friendly and astute executive, who has spent three decades at Disney and was stationed in London before that, has been overseeing global distribution since January 2021, while his family stayed in England. In the year 2024, Disney regained its top spot in market share from Universal following the enormous success of its films which grossed a staggering $5.4 billion at global box offices. This triumph was largely due to blockbusters like Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, and soon-to-be billion-dollar hit Moana 2. Universal came in second with just under $4 billion.

Chambers takes on his fresh responsibilities starting February, while Disney’s Jan Koeppen relinquishes his role as the head of EMEA region after serving for six years.

Under the supervision of Disney Entertainment co-chairpersons Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, along with ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, Chambers will be responsible for his duties.

In this new setup, various business sectors of the company operating within the region will now be supervised by the U.S. heads of those specific businesses. These leaders will have control over the financial performance (Profit & Loss) of their respective regional divisions in EMEA. The affected business sectors are theatrical distribution, studio marketing, digital distribution, direct-to-consumer services, advertising sales, networks, local original content production, and sports.

The role of Chambers as our regional president will persist, acting as our representative in the region. His duties include aligning strategic objectives and finances, managing regional teams, spearheading cross-business initiatives excluding Disney Experiences, and supervising shared service departments.

Or more concisely:

Chambers remains our regional president, handling regional representation, strategic alignment, team coordination for business areas other than Disney Experiences, and overseeing shared services.

The EMEA region plays a crucial role in our global business success. As we change our approach for our entertainment businesses in this area, we’re lucky to have two outstanding leaders handing over the reins to each other.” (Bergman, Walden and Pitaro made this statement.)

Tony, a well-respected senior executive with a strong collaborative approach, boasts an outstanding reputation not only in EMEA but also throughout our entire organization. His extensive experience makes him an excellent fit for his new role which is crucial to our growth. We eagerly anticipate further expansion in EMEA and globally. We are deeply appreciative of Jan’s remarkable efforts during his tenure, as they have significantly and lasting impacted this team and the company.”

This version maintains the original meaning while using simpler language and a more conversational tone to make it easier for readers to understand.

Speaking about his new role, Chambers expressed, “I feel deeply privileged to head the exceptional EMEA team in this capacity. This is a vibrant region undergoing tremendous, constructive transformation during recent times, and I’m brimming with excitement to further capitalize on this momentum.

Before taking on the role of global distribution chief, Chambers held a position as the senior vice president overseeing distribution in Europe, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

In his own words, Koeppen expressed that he departs from his position with a full heart and immense pride. He highlighted that the last six years marked a significant phase of change, during which they successfully introduced Disney+ to this region.

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2025-01-07 20:24