Disney Shakes Up Marketing Leadership: Asad Ayaz Unveils New Structure to Unify Brand Storytelling
In a significant internal realignment, The Walt Disney Company has restructured its global marketing leadership under newly promoted Chief Marketing and Brand Officer Asad Ayaz. The move, detailed in a company-wide memo on Thursday, aims to streamline operations and create a more cohesive brand narrative across Disney's vast portfolio.
Ayaz, a veteran Disney executive recently elevated to the top marketing role, outlined a new organizational framework. He appointed five divisional heads to oversee marketing for consumer products, experiences, and entertainment segments. Notably, a new enterprise marketing team has been established to act as a central hub, designed to increase collaboration between individual business units while maintaining a consistent global brand perspective.
"Our shared goal is to unlock an innovative and agile organization," Ayaz wrote in the memo, emphasizing "greater clarity, accountability, and collaboration" as the company navigates a rapidly evolving media landscape.
The restructuring is framed around five strategic pillars for 2026: deepening consumer relationships, elevating creative output, leveraging data insights, harnessing partner ecosystems, and accelerating innovation. Analysts see this as a direct response to the challenges of managing a unified brand identity across disparate platforms like film, streaming, parks, and sports.
"We will show up as one unified storytelling brand across our flywheel," Ayaz added, signaling a shift from siloed marketing efforts to a more integrated approach that mirrors how consumers interact with Disney today.
The new enterprise marketing leadership team will partner with divisional and international groups. However, one key role—Marketing Operations and Technology Head—remains vacant. This position will be crucial for implementing the technological infrastructure and tools needed to execute the company's modern marketing vision.
Reaction & Analysis:
"This is a logical consolidation. Disney's brand strength is its greatest asset, but it can get fragmented across so many touchpoints. Centralizing strategy while empowering divisions is a smart, if challenging, balance." – Michael Torres, Media Analyst at BrandVision Group
"Finally! For years, getting a park promotion to sync with a movie release felt like orchestrating a peace treaty between rival nations. If this new 'enterprise team' has real authority, it could mean much more seamless experiences for fans." – Sarah Chen, Former Disney Parks Marketing Manager
"More restructuring, more buzzwords—'flywheel,' 'agility,' 'ecosystem.' This feels like corporate deck shuffling to justify a new C-suite title. The real test is whether it leads to better, more creative marketing or just another layer of bureaucracy. That vacant tech role is a glaring red flag." – David R. Klein, Editor-in-Chief, 'The Media Critique'
The leadership changes are effective immediately, marking one of Ayaz's first major moves since his promotion.