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).
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.”
“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.
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?
