Disney Shakeup: Christine McCarthy to Step Down as Chief Financial Officer; Kevin Lansberry Named Interim CFO

A judge in Delaware Chancery Court has ruled against a shareholder who sued Disney for documents regarding its opposition to Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law. The decision came as a separate, more sweeping lawsuit moves forward in the state, where Disney has sued Gov. Ron DeSantis for retaliation after the company spoke out against the legislation.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Vernā Myers will be stepping down from her role as Netflix’s head of inclusion strategy at the end of September. Myers, who was the first to ever serve in the position for the streamer when she joined in 2018, will remain as an advisor to Netflix while returning to her self-titled consulting company, The Vernā Myers Company. Upon Myers’ departure, Netflix’s vice president of inclusion strategy Wade Davis, who has worked under Myers for the past four years, will be promoted to oversee the team. Former NFL player Davis has previously consulted on inclusive corporate culture for companies including Google, Procter & Gamble and Viacom (now part of Paramount Global).

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The nation’s biggest media chiefs have for months asked investors to be patient. Wait until the back half of 2023, they’ve said, when ad money will start to flow once again. Now companies like Paramount Global, Comcast, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery need to play a waiting game of their own. Ad budgets are expected to be down in the industry’s “upfront” market, when U.S. media companies try to sew up deals for the bulk of their advertising inventory ahead of the fall launch of their next programming cycle. Big marketers are not only uncertain about what new content will be available come autumn – a writers’ strike has squelched production of everything from late-night programs to scripted comedies and dramas – but what they should expect from the economy over the next few months.

Selome Hailu Kevin Levy is leaving his post as the CW’s executive vice president of program planning, scheduling and acquisitions. The news was announced to CW staffers in a memo sent by Brad Schwartz, president of entertainment, on Tuesday, which also noted that Levy’s last day at the network will be on Aug. 1. Levy began his career at UPN, and was part of the team that transitioned into and launched the CW after UPN shut down. He remained at the CW for the entirety of his television career, starting as director of program planning and scheduling before rising the ranks and landing as executive vice president in 2018.

Nearly five years after Rihanna launched her Savage x Fenty lingerie brand, she is stepping down as its chief executive officer.

Rihanna is set to step down as CEO of Savage X Fenty.The singer-turned-entrepreneur will remain as executive chair at the lingerie brand she founded in 2018, but former Anthropologie group CEO Hillary Super will fill the CEO role.According to Vogue Business, the switch is set to be affective from June 26.“It’s been beautiful to see our vision for Savage X Fenty impact the industry at such an incredible magnitude over the last five years,” Rihanna said in a statement to Vogue.“This is just the beginning for us, and we’re going to continue to expand in ways that always connect with the consumer. I’m so grateful and excited to welcome Hillary Super as our new CEO — she is a strong leader and is focused on taking the business to an even higher level.”Rihanna’s net worth is currently estimated above $1.4billion (£1.1billion), as reported by Vogue.Controversy surrounded Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show Vol.

Rihanna has announced plans to step down at the CEO of Savage x Fenty and she has already appointed someone else to take over the position.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Zenia Mucha, who spent two decades as Disney’s top spokesperson before leaving the company in 2021, has been hired at TikTok. She’ll serve in the newly formed role of chief brand and communications officer and will be responsible for TikTok’s global marketing and communications strategies. Mucha’s hiring is part of a larger shakeup at TikTok. Vanessa Pappas is stepping down as the company’s chief operating officer and Adam Presser, the current chief of staff, has been promoted to head of operations. “Given all the successes reached at TikTok, I finally feel the time is right to move on and refocus on my entrepreneurial passions,” Pappas said in a note to staff.  “I know the company has a very bright and stable future under the strong leadership of Shou Chew and our executive team, I will be here to support him, the leadership team and all of you during this transition by taking on an advisory role for the company.”

Christine Baumgartner and Kevin Costner are getting a divorce. Baumgartner made the decision about a month ago, when she allegedly surprised him with the divorce papers. This week, she was photographed in Santa Barbara, California as she stopped by a building that housed various lawyers.

Latondra Newton, who has served as Disney’s chief diversity officer since 2017, is leaving the company. An internal memo from Disney chief human resources officer Sonia Coleman announcing Newton’s departure was circulated to staff Tuesday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Disney’s chief diversity officer and senior vice president Latondra Newton is exiting her role after more than six years, according to an internal memo obtained by Variety. An individual with knowledge of the situation says that Newton will be joining the corporate board of another company soon, and plans to devote more time to her self-owned creative company. In her role as head of DEI operations at Disney, Newton was charged with overseeing the company’s “commitment to produce entertainment that reflects a global audience and sustains a welcoming and inclusive workplace for everyone.”

Earnings calls, those ritualized quarterly opportunities for public companies to convey the state of their financial affairs to Wall Street analysts and investors at large, are two-handed affairs for the Walt Disney Co.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.While McCarthy’s husband has been in a healthcare facility since early this year, a person familiar with her situation told the Journal there have been no dramatic changes recently that would drive her to step down. But there were signs of strife coming from the CFO’s office before the House of Mouse announced Thursday that she’d be leaving that were perhaps buried in the glowing comments that accompanied the announcement of her depature.“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,” CEO Bob Iger said in a statement Thursday.Yet the Journal reported that McCarthy has butted heads with Iger since he returned as CEO in November and other top execs over the media and entertainment giant’s restructuring strategy.

Naman Ramachandran Director of the National Theatre Rufus Norris has unveiled 12 new productions and has also confirmed that he will step down after 10 years as director in mid-2025 when his current term comes to an end.  Under Norris’ leadership the National Theatre broadened both its program and audience and expanded its reach far beyond London. He had a key focus on widening the representation of voices and stories told on the National Theatre’s stages. Since 2015, the National Theatre stages have been on average 88% full – despite the disruption of COVID-19. Digital innovation under his stewardship has seen National Theater reach new audiences in over 180 countries, and the National Theatre at Home platform – born during the pandemic – has ensured that its work is shared with a wide audience. National Theatre Live, now in its 14th year, has reached over 11.8 million people in cinemas worldwide and broken the event cinema box office record for the U.K. and Ireland twice.

Christine McCarthy, a significant figure in Disney’s senior management team in recent years, is stepping down and taking a medical leave of absence from the company.

It’s succession season at the UK’s  National Theatre with Rufus Norris, the institution’s Artistic Director, announcing that he will step down in 2025 after a decade in the post.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys thinks AI has no place in the creative process at his brands. “Two things to keep in mind when I say this: One is, remember I grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which is Steel Town,” Bloys, the chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, told Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton during a keynote conversation Wednesday at the Variety TV FYC Fest. “So I am very, very aware of what happens when a company does not think about the future or is not aware of the future. But also, I’ve been at HBO for 19 years and I have never tested a pilot to decide whether to pick it up or not. We just don’t use all of the things other places do, it’s just not something we do. So my take on AI, the idea that AI would be involved in any sort of development or the creative process in the kinds of shows that I do, or we do, at HBO, that’s not something I want to be a part of.