Kevin Mayer, chairman of direct-to-consumer and international at Disney, is departing to become CEO of hot social app TikTok and chief operating officer of its parent company, ByteDance.

In his new role, Mayer will oversee music, gaming, Helo and emerging businesses at ByteDance, while also leading TikTok as CEO. Mayer will report directly to ByteDance founder and CEO Yiming Zhang.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join the amazing team at ByteDance,” said Mayer in a statement. “Like everyone else, I’ve been impressed watching the company build something incredibly rare in TikTok – a creative, positive online global community – and I’m excited to help lead the next phase of ByteDance’s journey as the company continues to expand its breadth of products across every region of the world.

Rebecca Cambell
Rebecca Cambell

Rebecca Campbell will replace Mayer at Disney as chairman of direct-to-consumer and international. Meanwhile, Josh D’Amaro has been named chairman, Disney Parks, experiences and products, replacing Bob Chapek. Chapek was named Disney CEO in February, replacing Bob Iger, who will remain executive chairman of Disney through next year.

“Our company is very fortunate to have a deep bench of talent and we’re extremely pleased to welcome these two exceptionally qualified Disney veterans to our senior management team,” said Chapek in a statement. “Both Josh and Rebecca have more than two decades of leadership experience with the Company, a keen understanding of our brands and businesses, and a shared passion and vision for delivering extraordinary entertainment and one-of-a-kind experiences.”

D’Amaro comes in at a particularly difficult time at Disney as the coronavirus has forced the closure of Disney parks, resorts and cruises around the globe and some 100,000 employees have been furloughed. Disney resorts are starting to be reopened around the world, with Disneyland Shanghai opening back up May 11 with social distancing, mask requirements and increased cleaning. D’Amaro also will oversee global consumer products, retail and e-commerce.

Besides leading Disney+, Campbell also will take over Mayer’s other duties, which includes overseeing Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney’s joint streaming venture in India, Hotstar. Mayer also headed up international operations, global ad sales and global content sales.

Campbell most recently was president of The Disneyland Resort. Prior to that, she was president of The Walt Disney Company—Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), where she oversaw the launch of Disney+. During her tenure at Disney, Campbell also has run the ABC owned television stations from 2010 to 2017 and prior to that, led WABC New York from 2007-2010.

She joined The Walt Disney Co. in 1997 as vice president of programming at ABC’s WPVI Philadelphia.

“As we look to grow our direct-to-consumer business and continue to expand into new markets, I can think of no one better suited to lead this effort than Rebecca,” Chapek said. “She is an exceptionally talented and dedicated leader with a wealth of experience in media, operations and international businesses. She played a critical role in the launch of Disney+ globally while overseeing the EMEA region, and her strong business acumen and creative vision will be invaluable in taking our successful and well-established streaming services into the future.”

Tags: career moves disney kevin mayer rebecca campbell tiktok


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