Disney Promotes April Carretta to EVP of Communications, Exec to Lead PR for Dana Walden

Disney has promoted April Carretta to the position of Executive Vice President of Communications, where she will now report to Chief Communications Officer Paul Roeder. In her new role, Carretta will be responsible for leading the day-to-day communications efforts for Dana Walden, who recently assumed the role of President and Chief Creative Officer at Disney.

Previously, Carretta served as the head of communications for Disney’s direct-to-consumer business and tech and product teams. She will continue to oversee public relations for these areas while also taking on the additional responsibility of managing communications for Disney’s games business, which now falls under Walden’s purview.

Roeder, who recently assumed the top communications role at Disney, announced Carretta’s promotion and other changes within the PR organization in a memo to staff. He emphasized the importance of the Communications team in supporting the company’s success under the leadership of Josh D’Amaro and Dana Walden.

In addition to Carretta’s promotion, Roeder outlined several other updates to Disney’s communications team:

– David Jefferson, Executive Vice President of Communications, will continue to lead corporate communications efforts and now oversee Disney’s international communications teams.
– Mimi Fong, Vice President of Communications, will join Carretta’s team to support international content communications.
– Carrie Brown, Senior Vice President of Internal Communications, will report directly to Roeder and lead employee communications and engagement efforts.
– Mariana Vaca has joined Roeder’s team as Director of Communications to work across Disney’s communications teams corporatewide.

The business segment communications leads will also see some changes in reporting structure:

– Alannah Hall-Smith, EVP of Communications and Public Affairs for Disney Experiences, will continue in her role, reporting to Disney Experiences Chairman Thomas Mazloum and Roeder.
– Josh Krulewitz, EVP of ESPN Communications, will continue to report to ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro and Roeder.
– Naomi Bulochnikov, EVP of Communications for Disney Entertainment, will continue leading communications for Disney Entertainment Television.
– Bridget Osterhaus, VP of Communications, will continue leading communications for Disney’s Platform Distribution organization.
– Erin Barrier, SVP of Communications for Walt Disney Studios, has been promoted to this role, reporting to Alan Bergman, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios, and Roeder.

These changes reflect Disney’s commitment to enhancing its communications efforts and ensuring effective communication across the organization. The newly appointed executives will play a crucial role in shaping the company’s future under the leadership of D’Amaro, Walden, and Roeder.