Disney has named Adam Smith as the head of its direct-to-consumer business, after previously sharing that role with Joe Earley. The company said the move is part of a broader leadership shake-up in streaming.
Smith, who was Disney's product and tech chief, will now lead streaming and continue to work closely with film chief Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, Disney's chief creative officer and the second-in-command to CEO Josh D'Amaro.
In a memo to tech staffers, Walden said that 'as DTC continues to grow and scale around the world, having a single dedicated leader will sharpen our focus and allow us to speed up decision making and operations.' She also credited Smith with driving 'significant growth and improvement to our global streaming platforms,' including the user interface.
Walden said Disney is seeing 'greater engagement and retention globally' across its streaming services. Smith said in his own memo that he is focused on helping 'evolve Disney+ into the digital centerpiece of the company.'
Earley will stay at Disney as president of its franchise and content strategy for its Entertainment TV business under Debra OConnell, who oversees the operation and reports to Walden.
Smith joined Disney two years ago after more than 20 years at Google, including 13 at YouTube, where he was vice president of product management. A veteran Disney tech employee said the promotion fits Smith as 'an AI native' who can 'meld content creation and distribution together in a powerful way.'
The company is betting that a cleaner chain of command can make streaming move faster. For founders and operators, the playbook is familiar: when a business gets bigger, split attention becomes expensive, and every extra layer can slow product decisions.
Disney is making that tradeoff explicit. One leader, one mandate, and a sharper push around Disney+ may help the company move with more speed. The test will be whether that structure turns into better execution, or just a tidier org chart.
