After helping to restore Disney‘s standing at the box office, Tony Chambers is shifting roles. He’s exiting his perch as head of global distribution to return to London, where he’ll serve as president of the conglomerate’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Chambers’ promotion comes as the Walt Disney Co. restructures how it runs its entertainment businesses in the region to ensure further unification of the company’s global strategy.
Chambers’ replacement will be named in the near future.
The affable and shrewd executive, who has worked at Disney for three decades and was previously based in London, has led global distribution since January 2021, although his family remained in England. In 2024, Disney reclaimed its No. 1 ranking in marketshare from Universal after its films amassed a stunning $5.4 billion in worldwide ticket sales, led by billion-dollar blockbusters Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine (Moana 2 will soon cross $1 billion as well). The next closest studio was Universal, with shy of $4 billion.
Chambers will begin his new duties in February. Disney’s Jan Koeppen is stepping down as regional lead of EMEA after a six-year tenure.
Chambers will report to Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro.
In the new structure, several of the company’s lines of business in the region will now report directly into the U.S.-based leaders of those businesses, who will have P&L oversight for their respective regional businesses in EMEA. These include theatrical distribution, studio marketing, platform distribution, direct-to-consumer, ad sales, networks, local original content and sports.
The regional president, i.e., Chambers, will continue to be the company’s representative in the region and be responsible for consolidating strategic priorities and financials, and for coordinating teams at the regional level, leading local initiatives that span across businesses (excluding Disney Experiences), and overseeing shared service functions.
“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,” Bergman, Walden and Pitaro said in a joint statement that.
“Tony 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,” they continued.
Added Chambers, “I’m truly honored to be leading the world-class EMEA team in this new capacity. 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.”
Prior to serving as head of global distribution, Chambers was senior vice president of distribution for Europe, the U.K and Ireland.
For his part, Koeppen said he leaves his job “full heart and great pride,” noting that the past six years have been a period of profound transformation, including the launch of Disney+ in the region.
