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Iger Continues In-House Shakeup With Major Staff Change

sonia coleman and bob iger smiling

Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger is apparently not done with his ‘renovations’ inside the company!

According to Deadline, Human Resources executive Sonia Coleman is being promoted to Senior EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer and her predecessor Paul Richardson “is leaving the company after more than 15 years” (whether or not Richardson’s exit was a layoff is unclear).

Bob Iger

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger returned from retirement to take over during the ousting of now-former Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Credit: CNBC

Sonia Coleman will start the new position on April 8, and is coming from a role in HR within Disney Entertainment and ESPN.

Coleman will apparently focus on “human resources’ strategy, global talent acquisition, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, organizational design and cultural development, employee education and development, compensation and benefits, HR operations and technology and global security.”

The job is, obviously, an enormous one with many responsibilities — but according to Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, “Sonia is widely respected across the company as a gifted leader and strong advocate for our employees.”

sonia coleman with disney logo

Credit: Disney

“Her proven expertise leading the human resources function for our general entertainment businesses and ESPN during a period of unprecedented transformation makes her the perfect choice to lead this function company-wide as we implement our new operating structure and position Disney to capitalize on the opportunities ahead,” Iger added.

Bob iger Disney Stock Up

Disney’s stock saw a rise after Iger announced the new plans for Disney (and the layoffs) in February 2023. Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger recently returned from retirement to take over during the ousting of now-former Disney CEO Bob Chapek.

Richardson was reportedly thanked by Iger, particularly for his work on the “Disney’s Heroes Work Here veterans hiring program” — but since Iger made it clear recently that layoffs (as many as 7,000) were on the table for Disney, Disney stockholders will be wondering if Richardson’s exit was voluntary.

Coleman will supposedly become Cast Members’ “greatest champion” (as she put it), but Disney employees will most likely be hesitant to believe that statement due to the tense wage negotiations going on between Disney World and Cast Members at the moment.

Have you been keeping tabs on CEO Bob Iger and the changes that he is making to the Walt Disney Company? Are you a Disney stockholder who follows Disney news like this closely?

About Sharon

Sharon is a writer and animal lover from New England. Sharon's two main focuses in her work are Disney's correlations with pop culture and the significance of Disney princesses (which was the basis for her college thesis). When she's not writing about Disney, Sharon spends her time singing, dancing, and cavorting with woodland creatures!

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