Key players in the Disney leadership drama:
1. Bill Prady – President of Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm’s CEO since 2003, Prady has held a number of high-profile positions during his tenure. He served as chairman of Disney before becoming CEO, and he has been responsible for such iconic properties as ‘Star Wars,’ Disney’s most recent animated film, ‘Mulan,’ a live-action Disney Channel film, and the live-action remake of ‘Tarzan,’ which has raked in millions for Disney.
Prady, who has led Lucasfilm since 1995, said the company has been in good financial position. “We’re doing well, even with a very difficult environment around us,” he told the Hollywood Reporter during an interview in 2016. “There’s a lot to be happy about right now. I’m very optimistic about our company right now.”
2. Dana Goldstein – Chairman of Disney’s M&A division
Goldstein has been the driving force behind Disney’s expansion into the video game market in recent years. In 2017, she served as CEO of the company’s newly formed M&A arm, which, as the Wall Street Journal reported, “puts Disney at the forefront of a wave of entertainment-tech companies chasing growth and profit from the booming industry.”
Goldstein has been a longtime presence in the industry, previously having worked at Electronic Arts as a partner in the company’s CEO position from 2011 to 2016 and as co-founder and former CEO of Electronic Arts Mobile from 1994 to 1997.
She currently serves on the board of directors of the Consumer Technology Association, Entertainment Software Association, and Game Developers Choice Awards.
3. John Pleasants – Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
After serving as CEO of Disney’s ABC network from 1993 to 1995, Pleasants spent another 10 years with the network before joining Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in 2000.
He has been responsible for the company’s resorts in Florida, California, and Mexico from 2000 to the present. Pleasants served as company president for much of the 2000s, and after stepping down as its CEO in 2016, he resumed the position.
Pleasants was most recently appointed to the Disney board of directors along with Disney CEO