BURBANK, Calif. -- Aaron LaBerge has been named as the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the recently formed Disney Direct-To-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment.

In this new role, LaBerge will be DTCI’s first CTO and a key member of the DTCI leadership team, reporting to Chairman Kevin Mayer. He will shape and support ground-breaking innovation and drive the strategic use and development of technology to power the DTCI business, deliver world-class products and experiences to consumers around the world and provide the technology and operations to deliver the entertainment and sports content consumers around the world want, with more choice, personalization and convenience than ever before.

Formed in March 2018, DTCI is Disney’s global, multiplatform media, product, technology, and distribution organization for world-class content created by the company’s Studio Entertainment and Media Networks groups. The segment is comprised of Disney’s international media and direct-to-consumer businesses globally, including all Disney networks outside of the US, the ESPN+ streaming service, the upcoming Disney-branded direct-to-consumer streaming service and the Company’s ownership stake in Hulu.

Within DTCI technology, there will be nine core teams – Business Platforms, Data Platforms, Information Security, Media Engineering, Media Services, Product Engineering, Product and Design, Technology Operations and Office of the CTO.

The leadership team reporting to LaBerge will include Mike Andrews (Sr. Vice President, Product Engineering), Michael Cupo (Vice President, Office of the CTO), John Heerdt (Sr. Vice President, Media Engineering), Chris Lawson (Sr. Vice President, Technology Operations) and Mike Napodano (Sr. Vice President, Business Platforms) – with several other leadership roles to be filled in the coming weeks.

LaBerge and team will collaborate closely with Disney Streaming Services, who remain responsible for DTCI’s direct-to-consumer subscription streaming platforms. In addition to working with Joe Inzerillo (Executive Vice President and CTO, Disney Streaming Services), LaBerge will also liaise with other senior technology leaders at the company, including Tilak Mandadi (Executive Vice President and CTO, Disney Parks, Experiences, and Consumer Products) and Susan O’Day (Executive Vice President, Enterprise Technology and CIO) to ensure that The Walt Disney Company remains one of the most technologically sophisticated, creative and advanced companies in the world.

Since 2015, LaBerge served as Executive Vice President and CTO at ESPN, where he was a key architect for state-of-the-art infrastructure, facilities and systems; led the design, and development of next-generation data, video and audio platforms; drove ESPN’s industry-leading innovation and advanced development work; and oversaw the strategic leadership and direction of technology – and its marriage with ESPN’s content – across all media. He also served on the Disney Research Advisory Board.

LaBerge first joined The Walt Disney Company in 1997, through Disney’s acquisition of Starwave Ventures, the company that produced some of the company’s earliest Internet products, including ESPN.com and ABCNews.com.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS)