Disney’s senior management team is undergoing a significant change as Christine McCarthy steps down from her role as CFO and takes a medical leave of absence. Kevin Lansberry, a veteran Disney executive, will serve as the company’s Interim CFO effective July 1st. McCarthy will continue to be a strategic advisor to the company during her leave and will assist in identifying and onboarding a long-term successor to ensure a smooth transition.
This change comes as Disney completes a significant round of cutbacks, with 7,000 employees being laid off as the company pursues a goal of $5.5 billion in cost savings. McCarthy has been a key figure overseeing the management of expenses for the company’s streaming operations, which have drawn increased scrutiny from Wall Street in recent months.
“Christine McCarthy is one of the most admired financial executives in America, and her impact on The Walt Disney Company during 23 years of dedicated service cannot be overstated,” said CEO Bob Iger. “Although she is stepping down from her CFO role to take family medical leave, she has graciously offered to move into an advisory position to assist her successor in assuming the duties she has so expertly handled these many years.”
Lansberry has agreed to serve as Interim CFO while a thorough search of internal and external candidates is conducted for a permanent replacement. “Kevin has been with the company for more than three decades and is a trusted lieutenant to Christine,” Iger said. “Having expertly served as CFO at our largest business segment since 2017, he has my complete confidence, and I look forward to working with him during this transition.”
As Interim CFO, Lansberry will assume oversight of the company’s worldwide finance organization, which includes corporate alliances and partnerships, corporate real estate, corporate strategy and business development, enterprise controllership, enterprise technology, financial planning and analysis, global product and labor standards, global security, investor relations, risk management, tax and treasury.
McCarthy joined Disney in 2000 as treasurer and became CFO in 2015. Prior to joining Disney, she held various executive positions at First Interstate Bancorp from 1981 to 1996 and was CFO of Imperial Bancorp from 1997 to 2000. She is a board member at Procter & Gamble and FM Global and is a trustee of the Carnegie Institution for Science.
Before Iger returned to the company as CEO in November 2022 (following a previous exec run of several decades ending in 2020), McCarthy’s name surfaced as a potential successor to former CEO Bob Chapek.
