ABOUT THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, AND AFRICA

Senior Vice President, General Manager Media Networks EMEA & Country Manager UK & Ireland

Deborah Armstrong is Senior Vice President, General Manager Media Networks EMEA & Country Manager UK & Ireland. She is responsible for the day-to-day management of the networks in three key genres – kids (Disney Channels), factual (National Geographic) and entertainment (FOX) and directly oversees advertising sales and partnerships, marketing, communications and research for the media networks business.  Deborah also manages the National Geographic brand across the region, working closely with the non-profit National Geographic Society.

As Country Manager UK & Ireland, Deborah also has responsibility for all of The Walt Disney Company’s UK & Irish businesses and activities.

Deborah joined Disney following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, where she was Executive Vice President, National Geographic Partners (NGP) and Fox Networks Group (FNG) Europe and Africa. In this role, Deborah had full oversight for Advertising Sales and Brand Partnerships for FNG and NGP and led the regional growth strategy and P&L for National Geographic Publishing, Consumer Products and Expeditions (Travel). Additionally, Deborah was responsible for Corporate Communications, FNG Europe and Africa.

Deborah joined 21st Century Fox in 1997, and worked across the organisation in multiple capacities, offices and locations. Originally based in Hong Kong, Deborah joined the core launch management team in Asia as SVP Marketing, Communications & Advertising Sales for National Geographic Channel, Asia and Middle East, before returning to the UK in 2002 to build the advertising sales business across Europe & Africa.

Before joining National Geographic and FNG; Deborah was Head of Sales Marketing & Research at CNBC & NBC, Asia, was a founding team member of M&C Saatchi, Asia Pacific, and Regional Media Director, Leo Burnett, Ltd working across global brands based in both Hong Kong and the UK.

Born in the UK, Deborah holds a degree in English Literature & Film Studies from the University of North London.

Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, The Walt Disney Company EMEA

As Chief Financial Officer for The Walt Disney Company EMEA, Simon is responsible for all the financial functions across the region leading the local market and regional CFOs across commercial finance, financial planning and analysis, shared accounting services and controllership, cost management and tax services. In addition, Simon plays a key role in identifying and analysing new business opportunities, driving efficiencies and working with the EMEA Management team in pursuing sustainable and profitable growth.

Simon began his Disney career in 1995 as the UK Controller for TWDC Ltd, and then progressed through a succession of roles for Disney Channel UK & EMEA covering production finance, commercial deal negotiation, general management, business operations and finance. Simon was part of the management team that launched and expanded the reach of numerous channels across the EMEA region and also managed the integration of the Disney Channels and the Jetix TV businesses which Disney acquired in 2008. Immediately before his current role, Simon was the CFO for TWDC UK and Ireland, and in addition led EMEA Finance for Disney’s interactive businesses, for the EMEA Music Group, and DisneyLife, for which he was a founder member.

Simon is qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in London, where he worked on a number of Media & Entertainment clients, and is an Economics graduate from the University of Exeter.

Senior Vice President, Direct to Consumer and General Manager, Disney+ EMEA

Luke Bradley-Jones joined Disney in January 2020 as SVP, Direct to Consumer and General Manager, Disney+ EMEA. In this role Luke is responsible for the roll-out of Disney+ across the region and the ongoing strategy, operations, and commercial performance of Disney’s DTC business.

Prior to that Luke was at Sky for 8 years, where he led the transformation of Sky’s On Demand services and the launch and rapid growth of a range of products, including Sky Store, Sky Box Sets, and Sky Q. In 2017 he became Chief Marketing Officer, responsible for marketing strategy and communications across Sky’s TV, broadband and mobile businesses.

Before joining Sky, Luke spent five years at BBC Studios, the BBC’s commercial arm, where he was Managing Director of BBC.com and Global iPlayer, leading the rapid expansion of the corporation's global digital businesses across online, mobile and video on demand.

Luke has a first class degree from Oxford University in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, and a Masters in Modern Indian History. He lives in North London with his wife and three daughters.

Country Manager and Head of Studio Distribution, The Walt Disney Company Germany, Switzerland & Austria

Roger Crotti was appointed Country Manager of The Walt Disney Company Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GSA) in February 2017. He is responsible for all business segments of this media company, while also having direct responsibility for Studio Distribution in the German-speaking region.

Roger, who hails from Switzerland, is an entertainment expert of note who can look back on a career with Disney going back for more than 25 years now. He began his career in 1992 as Marketing Head for Disney’s cinema division in Switzerland, taking up the position as Managing Director of Theatrical shortly afterwards. Under his management, Disney succeeded in establishing itself as the cinema market leader in Switzerland, setting up key strategic partnerships such as the highly successful cooperative venture for many years with Sony Pictures, whose films Disney distributed in Switzerland.

In 2010, as General Manager of Switzerland Roger assumed responsibility for all of Disney’s business activities in this region. In 2013 he relocated from Zurich to Munich to take on the position as CMO for Disney in GSA. Since the beginning of 2015, he has had the additional responsibility of managing all cinema activities in the German-speaking region. In February 2017, as Country Manager Roger assumed responsibility for all Disney’s business activities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and, as Head of Theatrical, he also remains in charge of the motion picture business in the Germanspeaking region.

Country Manager and Head of Media, The Walt Disney Company Belgium, Netherlands & Luxembourg

Marco de Ruiter is the Country Manager for The Walt Disney Company Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, where he is responsible for more than 3,000 hours of live sports programming every year in The Netherlands. He will also have direct responsibility for the local media businesses.

Marco joined the Walt Disney Company following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, where he was Managing Director for the FOX Networks Group (FNG) in Germany, Switzerland, Austria (GSA) and Benelux. His Benelux remit includes the management of the FOX Sports joint venture with the Eredivisie (Dutch Premier League).

Marco joined FNG in 2013. In his years overseeing the German operations, the FNG channels became category leaders in the respective entertainment and documentary pay-tv clusters and he oversaw the launch of FOX+ on Deutsche Telekom.

Marco has been an executive in the media and entertainment industry since 2002 when he started at Viacom. He was latterly Chief Operating Officer for Northern Europe (GSA, Benelux, Nordics) at the company, where he was responsible for the operations in all countries and on a regional level for Distribution, Strategy, Digital Media and Shared Services. He also acted as Managing Director for Viacom’s International Media Centers, overseeing the establishment of and consolidation into two content media hubs in London and Amsterdam.

Prior to working in media and entertainment, Marco worked in Retail and E-Commerce, where he was CFO for Dutch household appliances and furniture company Ceteco in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. He also founded B2B e-commerce market place XpertBuyer.com.

He has served as an independent director on the board of Dutch cable company CAIWay and has been an angel investor in various technology start-ups.

Country Manager and Head of Media, The Walt Disney Company France

Hélène has been the Country Manager and Head of Media, TWDC France since April 2019.  As Head of Media for France, she has responsibility for the French media business which includes streaming activities (Disney+), the Disney Channel and National Geographic television channels as well as the distribution of the Disney group content.

As Country Manager for France, Hélène has responsibility for all The Walt Disney Company’s French business activities.

Hélène Etzi joined Disney France in 2004. She simultaneously held the positions of Vice-President and General Manager of Disney Channels France and Director of Marketing of The Walt Disney Company France. Therefore, she was responsible for all aspects of the marketing of The Walt Disney Company brands, franchises and content in France.

She then took over the management of Disney’s television channels accessible in the territories of the Europe Middle East and Africa region, a portfolio of more than 61 entertainment channels for children and family available in 117 countries in 22 languages.

Hélène Etzi led the channels’ digital transformation by developing new experiences on all platforms. She especially managed to consolidate the audiences of the Disney Channels chains in the region and developed local productions as well as the emergence of local talent.

Before joining Disney Channels, Hélène was Director of Sales and Marketing at Easynet, the English Internet Service Provider and worked many years for the leading Telco Orange.

Hélène holds a Master in Marketing and Communication from the highly reputed French School “Celsa” (Sorbonne University).

Country Manager & Head of Studio Distribution, The Walt Disney Company Italy and Country Manager Turkey, Israel & Greece

Daniel Frigo is the Country Manager of The Walt Disney Company Italy and also has direct responsibility for Studio Distribution in this market. Frigo is also Country Manager for our Turkey, Israel and Greece (TIG) organization. As the leader of these local integrated organizations, Daniel is responsible for delivering consistent annual bottomline growth across the overall company, coordinating and motivating a unified local executive leadership team made up of multiple lines of business and driving key strategic one company franchise plans for Disney’s portfolio of brands and properties.

Previously as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group (WDSMP) for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Frigo was responsible for the distribution and marketing of all the feature films released by The Walt Disney Company in the region including films from Pixar, Dreamworks, Marvel and those acquired by Disney. In 2009 he was named International Distributor of the Year at Cinema Expo, one of the main events in the industry for the EMEA market. He joined The Walt Disney Company in 1992, and was based in Burbank for the first three years at the Walt Disney Studios Corporate Headquarters, where he helped build the Studios’ first international feature film distribution division. He then moved to London to coordinate the Distribution and Sales department of WDSMP’s EMEA. In 2000 he also managed the launch of the Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment’s (WDSHE) Emerging Markets Group.

In 2005 he became Senior Vice President and General Manager of WDSMP EMEA, and a few years later he took on the role of Walt Disney Country Sponsor for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 2008 he also became Managing Director WDSMP for the studio in UK and Ireland.

Born in San Francisco in 1962 from an English mother and Italian father, Daniel lived in both the United Kingdom and Italy for over 25 years. He graduated with a Degree in Political Science and Italian Literature from the University of California, Berkeley and also holds a Master in Business Administration for Marketing from UCLA.

Senior Vice President, Studios Marketing, The Walt Disney Company EMEA

Lee leads all aspects of marketing for Theatrical and Physical Home Entertainment for our combined Walt Disney Studios and 20th Century Fox Films businesses (including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight), such as: marketing strategy, creative, digital engagement and studios PR. He is also responsible for our centralised marketing teams including: Corporate Brand management, cross company-wide research, studio and integrated promotions, digital marketing and media strategy. Our Music Group also reports into Lee.

Previously, Lee was Head of Studio Marketing for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), responsible for the marketing activities of The Walt Disney Company’s theatrical and home entertainment businesses across the region. This included direct operational accountability for these activities in the UK and Ireland.

Previous to that, Lee was Executive Director of Marketing for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK, where he was responsible for marketing activity for the UK Studio business.

Lee joined Disney in 1995 and has held a variety of Marketing and Sales positions within Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly Buena Vista International.

Prior to joining The Walt Disney Company, Lee was a Marketing Executive at a UK-based exhibition film network organisation.

Lee graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with a BA (Hons) degree in Business & Technology Management. He is based in London

Vice President, Human Resources, The Walt Disney Company EMEA

Toby is responsible for The Walt Disney Company’s Human Resources (HR) strategy, operations and organisation in the EMEA region.

Toby’s career at Disney began in 2009, where he has held HR leadership roles in EMEA, Australia & New Zealand and the US and has worked in Compensation and Benefits, HR Business Partnering and Talent Development. Prior to his current role Toby led HR for Disney Advertising in the US and has worked across multiple lines of business.

Prior to joining The Walt Disney Company, Toby worked for the WPP Group in a variety of HR roles.

Toby is a graduate from the University of Wales and holds a Masters degree in Human Resources Management from the University of Westminster.

Vice President, Corporate Communications & Corporate Responsibility, The Walt Disney Company EMEA

As Vice President, Corporate Communications and Social Responsibility, Phillips is responsible for leading all aspects of Corporate Communications for The Walt Disney Company EMEA. Reporting to the President, TWDC EMEA, Phillips is a strategic partner and key member of the EMEA Leadership team, with a remit that includes Corporate and Internal Communications, Media Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility for the region.

Prior to joining Disney, Amy was Vice President, Corporate Communications, ESPN. Where she managed media relations, media strategy and crisis communications for various aspects of the business. This includes working directly with the teams that are responsible for ESPN’s revenue – Ad Sales and Media Network Distribution – as well as Marketing and Research. She also oversaw global internal communications function and strategy for ESPN’s six thousand employees.

With more than 20 years of experience in sports and entertainment, Amy began her career at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, where she caught the bug to work in sports and sporting events. Following the Paralympics, she became a publicist for Ted Turner’s Goodwill Games and then moved on to Turner’s Cartoon Network.

After several years in Atlanta, Phillips moved to New York and ran communications for Outdoor Life Network (now NBC Sports Network) before joining ESPN. In her career she has been fortunate to attend several major sporting events, including the Super Bowl, the Tour de France, The Atlanta Olympic Games, the Sydney Olympic Games, The FIFA World Cup, The Stanley Cup Finals, Wimbledon, The Australian Open and The US Open.

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, she graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts with a BA in English in 1995 and currently resides in New York City.

Executive Vice President, Media Networks and Content, The Walt Disney Company EMEA

Diego Londono is Executive Vice President, Media Networks and Content. He is responsible for all television channels, multiplatform content, original production, marketing, creative services, and research for the Walt Disney Company Television portfolio across the region. Diego leads the company’s content strategy across its four genres (kids, factual, entertainment, sports) and oversees the brand strategy for Disney Channel, National Geographic, FOX and ESPN/Fox Sports. In this role, he also partners with the EMEA Direct-to-Consumer team on content strategy, commissioning and acquisitions.

Diego joined the Walt Disney Company following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, where he was Chief Operating Officer, Fox Networks Group (FNG) Europe and Africa. In this role, Diego worked alongside the regional President to further the FNG Europe and Africa operation and growth objectives, and was directly responsible for the company’s product strategy, including programming, production, acquisitions, marketing and research. As regional Head of Italy and the UK, he also had P&L responsibility and oversight of the operations in these markets.

A 21st Century Fox veteran, Diego joined the company in 1997 working in a variety of roles and countries over the past 22 years to create and successfully build the organisation’s international operations. Prior to being named Chief Operating Officer, Diego spent 13 years in Rome as President of FNG Italy and Germany, managing a 16 channel portfolio of channels that included the development and launch of new brands (FoxLife, Fox Crime, Fox Comedy, Fox Animation). Prior roles included Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Research, FNG Italy and Director Marketing, Communications and Digital for FOX, National Geographic Channel and FOX Kids throughout LATAM, based in Los Angeles.

Born in Colombia and raised in Los Angeles, California, Diego holds a Business Economics degree from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and a Masters in International Management from the University of California at San Diego. Diego has lived and worked in multiple countries and is fluent in three languages (English, Italian, Spanish).

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND COUNTRY MANAGER, MIDDLE EAST, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY EMEA

Chafic Najia is Senior Vice President and Country Manager, Middle East, for The Walt Disney Company EMEA, and as such oversees one of the Company’s fastest growing markets. His responsibilities cover all lines of businesses and brands across more than a dozen territories in the Middle East.

With a career spanning 30 years, 16 of which have been at TWDC, Chafic originally joined the Company in 1995 as VP of Business Development and Strategy for Disney Internet Group, based in California, where he was integral to all of Disney's landmark internet deals of that era. He was promoted and moved to London in 1998 to become SVP & Managing Director, International, Disney Internet Group. In 2000, Chafic joined a London-based voice portal start up called Vox as CEO. This was followed by roles in private equity and venture capital for a number of years.

Chafic was recruited back to TWDC in 2010 in London, as Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Strategy & Business Development (“CSBD”) for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Within his time in this role, he set up and managed the CSBD function, and was asked to also manage the “Emerging Markets” cluster (consisting of the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Israel & Greece). He held both roles for seven years, before taking up his current position four years ago.

Chafic’s early career included roles in management consulting, with McKinsey & Co and Strategic Planning Associates, and in investment banking with Goldman Sachs.

Chafic is a dual US-UK citizen, speaks five languages, and holds an MBA from Stanford University as well as MS & BS degrees from MIT.

Senior Vice President, Business Development & Strategy, The Walt Disney Company EMEA

Nami Patel is Senior Vice President Business Development & Strategy for The Walt Disney Company, EMEA. She is responsible for all strategic initiatives and planning, new launches, and identifying growth opportunities for the EMEA business.

Nami joined the Walt Disney Company, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, where she was SVP Business Development for Fox Networks Group (FNG) Europe & Africa. Accomplishments in this role include the development and launch of VOD products FOX+ and National Geographic+, establishing the growth plan for National Geographic’s consumer products and travel businesses in Europe, local partnerships relating to IP development, ad sales and affiliate operations, and joint venture initiatives to expand the FOX Sports business across the region. Since 2016, Nami has also held the position of Chief Financial Officer for FNG’s UK operations.

Nami first joined FNG’s parent company, 21st Century Fox, in 2010 (then News Corporation). In her role as Finance & Corporate Development Director for Europe & Asia, Nami was responsible for financial oversight of 21CF’s portfolio of businesses including Sky Italy, Sky Germany, Star India, Fox Turkey and various JVs in the Middle East. She also had a leading role in Finance and Commercial workstreams for all M&A activity, most notably the Sky Italy/Germany sale to BSkyB, and the Endemol/Shine merger in 2014.

Prior to her roles at 21st Century Fox, Nami held various positions within Deloitte’s Assurance & Advisory Group, where she qualified as a Chartered Accountant and went on to lead client engagements across Retail, Services and TMT industries.

Nami holds a Masters degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, was recognised in Management Today’s Top 35 Women under 35, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STUDIO DISTRIBUTION, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY EMEA

As Senior Vice President of Studio Distribution for The Walt Disney Company EMEA, Nick leads all distribution activities across Theatrical and Physical Home Entertainment for our combined Walt Disney Studios businesses in EMEA - Disney, Walt Disney Animation, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, LucasFilm Ltd, Twentieth Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures.

Previously, Nick was Vice President, Hardlines, Games and Interactive Experience for the Consumer Products, Games and Experiences (CPGP) division of Disney EMEA, where he had commercial responsibility for the Toys and Video Games categories. Nick also led Franchise strategy and commercialisation for the Lucasfilm and 20^th Century consumer products business in this role.

Prior to that, Nick held various other senior roles in the business including Vice President of Finance for CPGP in EMEA and Vice President of Finance for Walt Disney Studios EMEA, which he combined with being Chief Financial Officer for TWDC Central & Eastern Europe and Vice President, Finance, Franchise & Marketing.

Nick’s career at Disney spans over twenty-five years, having joined the Company in 1994. Prior to joining The Walt Disney Company Nick worked for BMW UK and Grand Metropolitan Brewing.

Nick is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA). He is based in London.

Senior Vice President, Consumer Products, Games & Publishing (CPGP), EMEA

Claire was appointed in September 2022 and is responsible for bringing the Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars brands into the lives of fans and families across the region through physical and digital products and experiences. Critical to this role is the go to market strategy to deliver innovative and best in class retail activations, including the rapidly expanding ecommerce platform shopDisney.

The scale and breadth of the EMEA business is significant, encompassing must-have toys; sustainable and inclusive lines; limited edition collectibles and homewares, through to luxury apparel collaborations and sell-out NFTs. Industry leading Creative and Product Development extends storytelling to world class product execution, delighting and inspiring imaginations.

Previously, Claire led the Hardlines and Games businesses for EMEA, implementing diversification into new categories and demographics, and onboarding new partners in Luxury Hardlines and Tech, signalling a fully reimagined business designed to deliver against an ambitious growth trajectory.

Prior to this, Claire was CPGP EMEA Head of Business Operations, where she was instrumental in successfully establishing a regional transformation strategy and operationalising a new structure.

During more than 18 years in the division, she has also led the UK Consumer Products business, the largest within the regional portfolio, and managed the commercial performances of key retailer relationships such as Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's.

She advocates for responsible and diverse business practices and was one of the founding members of the dedicated CPGP Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Global Committee, whose purpose is to ensure accountability and evaluate progress against key pillars within the business.

Claire is married with two children, and she holds a BA (Hons) degree in Business Studies and studied in Birmingham.

Country Manager and Head of Media, The Walt Disney Company Nordics

Hans van Rijn is the Country Manager for The Walt Disney Company Nordics where he also has direct responsibility for the local media business.

Hans joined the Walt Disney Company following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, where he was GM for the Nordic region of the Fox Networks Group (FNG), driving engagement and value from linear and digital video products reaching +14m people on a monthly basis.

Since joining FNG in 2017, he has been a driving force behind new, groundbreaking partnerships in the region including the launch of a new streaming and TV service in Denmark with YouSee, the consolidation of the Finnish TV advertising market with Sanoma Media, becoming the strategic partner of Nordic Entertainment Group and the roll out of FOX+, National Geographic+, the National Geographic free-to-air channel in Finland and the Xee brand in Denmark.

Prior to joining FNG, Hans held the role as Vice President, Global Digital Strategy and Business Development for Discovery Networks International across its five regional operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa; Latin America/US Hispanic and Asia-Pacific. This included overseeing 20 premium online video services, 100 channel websites, 60 YouTube channels and 300 social media services. Previously, Hans also worked as Nordic Director, Business Development & Digital Media at SBS Broadcasting, where he built the digital business of SBS Media with its portfolio of market leading TV and Radio brands in the Nordics. He was also part of the SBS Nordic management team that secured the sale of the Nordic operation to Discovery Inc.

He has also held positions at SBS Radio (Group Programme & Marketing Director, Nordics & CEE) and ProSiebenSat.1 Media (Group Programme & Marketing Director – Music TV).

Throughout his career, Hans has achieved multiple successes in the audio and video landscape including leading roles in devising and executing user-centric products in OTT, audio streaming, TV and radio across Europe.

Chief Regional Counsel, The Walt Disney Company EMEA

Peter Wiley is Chief Regional Counsel for The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Peter leads the legal function across the region and is responsible for all legal and regulatory matters impacting Disney’s businesses in EMEA. He reports to Linda Bagley, Deputy General Counsel for DMED.

Peter has been with Disney for over 20 years and first took on his current role in 2005.  From 2015 to 2020 he supervised the Disney legal functions in APAC and LatAm as well as EMEA, before returning to his EMEA role in 2020. Before Disney, Peter was a solicitor at City law firm Frere Cholmeley Bischoff where he qualified in 1993.

Peter has a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford.