Tagged With: Disney

THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS has promoted ROB MOORE to the position ofexecutive vice president of operations and finance. In his new position, Moore will be responsible for all of the business and operating activities of The Walt Disney Studios, including feature animation, live action film, TV animation and Wonderful World of Disney television production, theatrical and video marketing and distribution, the Studio's music operations, stage play business and Miramax Films. Moore, 37, joined The Walt Disney Studios in 1987 as a senior financial analyst. In 1990, he was promoted to vice

Burbank, California-based The Walt Disney Co. has reported a drop infourth-quarter profits. The entertainment company, which owns a filmstudio, a TV network (ABC) and runs theme parks around the world, said netincome fell to $85 million, or 4 cents a share, from $296 million, or 14cents a share, in 1998. Disney's earnings for its fourth quarter whichended September 30 included charges for acquiring Internet search serviceInfoseek Corp. Excluding the charges, profits fell 37 percent to $212

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY has completed the next stage in the development ofits international organization for Europe by naming six Disney veterans tocountry management roles. The six executives will all become managingdirector of six country groupings. CLAUS GYDESEN, 39, has been appointedmanaging director for Germany, Austria and Switzerland and will continue tobe based in Munich. As head of Disney's video operations in these markets,Gydesen established a direct-to-retailer operation that helped make Buena

Work, in the form of original concept drawings, as well as 18 seconds of animation, done by Salvador Daliin 1946 at the Disney studio for a never-completed film called DESTINO, isbeing dusted off by Disney vice chairman Roy Disney (Junior) and will becompleted as an art house cartoon by the Disney studio, according to theLondon SUNDAY TIMES. "I am going to finish the work of Salvador Dali,"Disney told the newspaper. "At Disney, we need to recover our history." Theproduction will be supervised by Disney, who is a son of Roy Disney (Walt

BUENA VISTA PICTURES MARKETING has promoted MAE JOYCE to vice president ofnational publicity, and DAVID SINGH to vice president of creative filmservices. JOYCE will be responsible for strategizing, coordinating andadministrating all aspects of national publicity for films released underthe Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood Picturesbanners. Joyce joined Disney in November 1996 after two years as apublicist with Warner Bros. During her tenure at Disney, she has served as

SANFORD M. (SANDY) LITVACK has been named vice chairman of the board of THEWALT DISNEY COMPANY. Litvack joined Disney in April, 1991, as senior vicepresident and general counsel, and was promoted to executive vice presidentthe following December. In May, 1992, he assumed the additional duties ofexecutive in charge of human resources. Before joining The Walt DisneyCompany, Litvack was a member of the executive committee and chairman ofthe litigation department of the international law firm Dewey Ballantine.

DISNEY INTERACTIVE has promoted JAN SMITH to executive vice president ofDisney's software-development business. Smith will be responsible forworldwide operations of Disney Interactive, including product development,marketing, finance and administration, business and legal affairs, andcustomer support.

Burbank, California-based DISNEY CONSUMER PRODUCTS has hired SUSAN GARELLIas vice president of human resources. Garelli joins Disney from Pasadena,California-based Avery Dennison, a worldwide manufacturer of self-adhesivematerials and consumer products, where she was also vice president of humanresources.

John Libbey & Company Ltd. has published WALT DISNEY AND EUROPE by RobinAllan. The work is a study of the way Europe and European cultureinfluenced Walt Disney and his artists in the making of the Disney animatedfeature films from SNOW WHITE to THE JUNGLE BOOK. The book is 368 pages,and lavishly illustrated in black and white and color with manyillustrations that have never been published. Paperback: ISBN1-86462-041-2; £22.50; Hardback: ISBN 1-86462-040-4; £40.00. Robin Allan

Walt Disney International Europe and Buena Vista Internet Group (BVIG) havepromoted Andrew Barron to executive vice president of new media andbusiness development for Walt Disney International Europe; and Chafic Najiato senior vice president and managing director of Buena Vista InternetGroup Europe. Barron joined WDTV-I in 1995 as director of businessdevelopment. Since then he has been responsible for identifying andnegotiating several Disney Channel agreements, as well as equity