Disney has one of its top streaming executives.
Aaron LaBerge, chief technology officer of Disney Entertainment and ESPN, will leave at the end of June to become CTO of Penn Entertainment, the gambling company that partners with Disney on the ESPN Bet sports betting platform.
According to a memo to staff Monday from Disney Entertainment chiefs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, as well as ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro, the move was a “personal decision” and they are beginning to look for a new CTO, with Chris Lawson taking over. in the meantime.
At Penn, LaBerge will be responsible for leading the technology and execution of the company’s digital efforts, including the new ESPN Bet platform. Penn announced ESPN Bet last year, as part of a $2 billion deal with ESPN.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our Penn leadership team,” said Penn CEO Jay Snowden. “Having overseen a global organization of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists and data scientists who have created some of the world’s largest and most successful media properties, there is no doubt no better candidate to lead our Technology and Interactivity division. his future.
Still, LaBerge’s departure comes at a critical time for Disney, which is integrating Hulu with Disney+ and also developing a direct-to-consumer offering for ESPN, both of which the executive has been closely involved with.
You can read the memo from Walden, Bergman and Pitaro below.
We wanted to share the news of Aaron LaBerge’s departure from Disney in June below. As Aaron explained, this was a personal decision – one that we discussed with him, understood and supported in making.
We would like to thank Aaron for his contributions and leadership at Disney over his 20 years. It’s a glimmer of hope that he will continue to help Disney and ESPN win, as he transitions into a role at PENN Entertainment – where he will be a key partner in ESPN’s continued growth and success BET (and the rest of their interactive activity. ).
As Aaron highlighted, we have an incredibly talented team and our work to identify permanent technology leadership is already underway, with Chris Lawson assuming interim oversight. Chris is a fantastic leader who will ensure we maintain our momentum by building on the great progress already made. We look forward to working with Aaron and Chris during this transition as we continue to focus on a bright future for our media business.
Alan, Dana and Jimmy
