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Credit: Inside The MagicThe Disney Company has named its newest president.
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Tony Chambers, the former head of Disney’s Theatrical Distribution team, has been named the new President of The Walt Disney Company. Specifically, Chambers has been named President of Disney, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). Chambers has a long history as a studio executive, first joining Disney’s theatrical distribution team back in 2021.
Since joining Disney’s distribution team, Chambers has overseen some of the decades’ biggest releases, such as Deadpool & Wolverine, Moana 2, and Inside Out 2, all of which were released in 2024. These films pushed both Disney and the global box office to new heights, with Deadpool alone grossing well over a billion dollars.
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Chambers will replace Jan Koeppen, who is stepping down as regional lead after her six-year run. This is all part of a major restructuring of EMEA for The Walt Disney Company. Chambers’ new role becomes effective in February.
“I’m truly honoured to be leading the world-class EMEA team in this new capacity,” said Chambers. “It’s a dynamic region that has gone through incredible, positive change over the past several years and I’m very eager now to build on that momentum.”
Disney is expected to name a new global Head of Theatrical Distribution in the near future, with the company sitting on another exciting crop of new films. Kicking off the near year in February is Captain America: Brave New World, the next installment in the long-running and ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The film has faced somewhat of a tumultuous production cycle, undergoing reshoots and a year-long delay. The film was also renamed from New World Order to Brave New World.
Next up is Marvel’s Thunderbolts, which hits theaters on May 2. The team-up film features an all-star cast of familiar MCU faces, such as Sebastian Stan’s Bucky and Florence Pugh’s Yelena.
The Fantastic Four: The First Steps is perhaps one of the most anticipated Marvel releases in quite some time and will finally introduce Reed Richards and his crew of scientists into the MCU. The film releases on July 25 and features a slate of fresh faces, including Ebon Moss-Bachrach of FX’s The Bear fame to global sensation Pedro Pascal.
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“EMEA is a key region in terms of the success of our business globally, and as we realign our strategy for our entertainment businesses there, we are fortunate to transition between two fantastic leaders,” said Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, Co-Chairmen, Disney Entertainment, and Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN.
“Tony Chambers is a seasoned senior executive who has a highly collaborative style and stellar reputation in EMEA and across the company, and he brings a wealth of experience to this important new role. We look forward to continuing to accelerate our growth in EMEA and around the world, and we are immensely grateful for Jan’s exceptional contributions, which have made a meaningful and enduring difference to this team and the company during his tenure.”
Disney EMEA operates in over 130 different markets. Since 2019, the region has been a high-growth area for Disney, and the studio is set to commit to $5 billion over the next few years to produce more shows and films in EMEA.
This change comes as many look ahead to Disney’s future as a whole, with the company on the cusp of naming its successor to longtime CEO Bob Iger. The businessman first joined Disney as CEO in 2005, eventually exiting the company in 2019. Iger returned for a brief stint to help guide Disney once again, with reports now claiming the company will announce its replacement by early next year.
Stay tuned here at Inside the Magic for all the latest on The Walt Disney Company.