Leadership
Our leadership team manages some of the most respected and beloved brands, creating innovative content and experiences while embracing emerging technologies and expanding into new markets around the world.
EMEA Leadership
A commitment to excellence, creativity and innovation. Our executive team’s vision and strategic direction deliver stories, characters and experiences that are welcomed into the hearts and homes of millions of families around the world.
Jan Koeppen
President, The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Jan Koeppen
President, The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Jan Koeppen was appointed President of The Walt Disney Company EMEA in 2019 with responsibility for leading the EMEA business commercially and operationally across 59 markets. His responsibilities include among others Disney+, motion pictures, television, content licensing and local original productions.
Prior to joining Disney, Jan was President, Fox Networks Group, Europe and Africa for five years, joining after five years at 21st Century Fox as its Chief Operating Officer, Europe and Asia. Jan started his career at BCG where he worked for 15 years.
Kakhaber Abashidze
Senior Vice President, Country Manager, The Walt Disney Company Central & Eastern Europe (CEE)
Kakhaber Abashidze
Senior Vice President, Country Manager, The Walt Disney Company Central & Eastern Europe (CEE)
Kakhaber Abashidze is the Country Manager for The Walt Disney Company CEE, including the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) , having been appointed to the role in April 2019. Kakhaber is responsible for Disney’s channels, direct to consumer and theatrical operations in the region.
Kakhaber joined Disney in 2008 as Vice President, Channel Distribution covering Italy, Iberia, CEE, Africa and Emerging Markets. In addition to his channel distribution remit, Kakhaber had expanded the responsibility of leading Disney’s media distribution activities as General Manager for Türkiye, Greece, Israel, Middle East and Africa.
Prior to joining Disney, Kakhaber served in commercial leadership roles at Jetix Europe before taking on the position of Regional Manager of Fox International Channels.
Paolo Agostinelli
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, AFFILIATE AND CONTENT DISTRIBUTION, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY EMEA
Paolo Agostinelli
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, AFFILIATE AND CONTENT DISTRIBUTION, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY EMEA
Paolo Agostinelli is Senior Vice President, Affiliate and Content Distribution, for The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He is responsible for affiliate distribution agreements for Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer propositions; and for affiliate sales of channels and non-linear subscription services across Disney’s combined entertainment, kids, factual and sports portfolio.
Paolo is also responsible for the Content Sales business in EMEA, covering the vast portfolio of content coming from The Walt Disney Company’s television and motion picture studios. This sees feature films from The Walt Disney Studios, as well as TV series and factual content from Walt Disney Television Studios, FX, Freeform and National Geographic, distributed via broadcasting platforms, digital platforms and pay TV networks across EMEA.
Paolo joined the Walt Disney Company following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, where he was latterly Executive Vice President, Distribution, Europe & Africa, for Fox Networks Group (FNG), a business unit of 21st Century Fox, where he led affiliate distribution across the region, looking after revenues for all channels and services. He joined FNG in April 2017.
Previously, Paolo was at Tata Sky, the leading pay TV platform in India and a JV between Tata Group and 21st Century Fox, as Chief Content & Business Development Officer, where he was responsible for business strategy and all content acquisition and programming.
Paolo also held roles at Sky Italia, the leading pay TV platform in Italy, where he looked after content acquisition for all third party channels and launched Sky on Demand; and as Marketing Director and Head of IPTV at Fastweb, the first Italian triple play operator.
A graduate from Bocconi University, Milan, and MBA from Columbia Business School, New York, Paolo started his career as a consultant at Bain & Company, where he spent ten years working with key Italian players in telecommunications and media.
Passionate about art, Paolo serves as Board Member of Fondazione Bagatti Valsecchi, an historic house museum in his native city, Milan, as representative of the Municipality.
Simon Amselem
Country Manager Spain, Portugal, Greece, Israel, Middle East and Africa
Simon Amselem
Country Manager Spain, Portugal, Greece, Israel, Middle East and Africa
Since 2010, Simon Amselem has been leading the integrated organisation that manages all Disney activities in Spain & Portugal. Simon also has direct operating responsibility for all media businesses in this region. Under his leadership, the Company has significantly increased efficiency and delivered substantial growth. He recently spearheaded the successful launch of the streaming service Disney+ in Spain. Simon expanded his remit to include Africa in 2020, and more recently, in 2023, to Greece, Israel and the Middle East.
Since joining Disney in 1996, Simon has held a number of senior positions within The Walt Disney Company, based in three different countries.
During 2008 and 2009 in London, he was Senior Vice-President Channel and Sports Distribution Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), leading the team in charge of managing platform relationships and conducting carriage deal negotiations for Disney and ESPN television channels in EMEA. In this role, he led the negotiations regarding the re-branding of Jetix into Disney Channel or Disney XD across the region and the launch of Disney Channel in various countries such as Netherlands and Greece, among other projects.
Between 2005 and 2008, as Senior Vice-President and Managing Director Disney Television France, he was responsible for operating and distributing Disney Channels in French-speaking territories.
In 1997, he was appointed Vice-President and Managing Director Disney Branded Television Iberia; in this role, he managed the launch of Disney Channel Spain in 1998 and then the launches of Playhouse Disney and Toon Disney in Spain and Disney Channel Portugal in 2001. He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2002.
Simon joined Disney from Capital Cities / ABC, where he was Vice-President European Operations ABC Cable and International Broadcast during 1995 and 1996. Prior to this, he was a founding partner of the consulting and investment company Iberacción, S.A. in Madrid (1989-1995) and had worked for two years as a Corporate Finance Associate at Shearson Lehman Brothers in New York City, after obtaining an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business in 1987.
Simon is fluent in four languages (English, Spanish, French and Portuguese).
Deborah Armstrong
Senior Vice President, General Manager Media Networks and Advertising EMEA & Country Manager UK & Ireland
Deborah Armstrong
Senior Vice President, General Manager Media Networks and Advertising EMEA & Country Manager UK & Ireland
Deborah Armstrong is Senior Vice President, General Manager Media Networks and Advertising EMEA & Country Manager UK & Ireland. She is responsible for the day-to-day management of the networks in three key genres – kids (Disney Channels), factual (National Geographic) and entertainment (FOX) and directly oversees advertising sales and partnerships, marketing, communications and research for the media networks business. Deborah also manages the National Geographic brand across the region, working closely with the non-profit National Geographic Society.
As Country Manager UK & Ireland, Deborah also has responsibility for all of The Walt Disney Company’s UK & Irish businesses and activities.
Deborah joined Disney following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, where she was Executive Vice President, National Geographic Partners (NGP) and Fox Networks Group (FNG) Europe and Africa. In this role, Deborah had full oversight for Advertising Sales and Brand Partnerships for FNG and NGP and led the regional growth strategy and P&L for National Geographic Publishing, Consumer Products and Expeditions (Travel). Additionally, Deborah was responsible for Corporate Communications, FNG Europe and Africa.
Deborah joined 21st Century Fox in 1997, and worked across the organisation in multiple capacities, offices and locations. Originally based in Hong Kong, Deborah joined the core launch management team in Asia as SVP Marketing, Communications & Advertising Sales for National Geographic Channel, Asia and Middle East, before returning to the UK in 2002 to build the advertising sales business across Europe & Africa.
Before joining National Geographic and FNG; Deborah was Head of Sales Marketing & Research at CNBC & NBC, Asia, was a founding team member of M&C Saatchi, Asia Pacific, and Regional Media Director, Leo Burnett, Ltd working across global brands based in both Hong Kong and the UK.
Born in the UK, Deborah holds a degree in English Literature & Film Studies from the University of North London.
Simon Bailey
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, The Walt Disney Company EMEA
Simon Bailey
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, The Walt Disney Company EMEA
As Chief Financial Officer for The Walt Disney Company EMEA, Simon is responsible for all the financial functions across the region leading the local market and regional CFOs across commercial finance, financial planning and analysis, shared accounting services and controllership, cost management and tax services. In addition, Simon plays a key role in identifying and analysing new business opportunities, driving efficiencies and working with the EMEA Management team in pursuing sustainable and profitable growth.
Simon began his Disney career in 1995 as the UK Controller for TWDC Ltd, and then progressed through a succession of roles for Disney Channel UK & EMEA covering production finance, commercial deal negotiation, general management, business operations and finance. Simon was part of the management team that launched and expanded the reach of numerous channels across the EMEA region and also managed the integration of the Disney Channels and the Jetix TV businesses which Disney acquired in 2008. Immediately before his current role, Simon was the CFO for TWDC UK and Ireland, and in addition led EMEA Finance for Disney’s interactive businesses, for the EMEA Music Group, and DisneyLife, for which he was a founder member.
Simon is qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in London, where he worked on a number of Media & Entertainment clients, and is an Economics graduate from the University of Exeter.
Luke Bradley-Jones
Senior Vice President, Direct to Consumer and General Manager, Disney+ EMEA
Luke Bradley-Jones
Senior Vice President, Direct to Consumer and General Manager, Disney+ EMEA
Luke Bradley-Jones joined Disney in January 2020 as SVP, Direct to Consumer and General Manager, Disney+ EMEA. In this role Luke is responsible for the roll-out of Disney+ across the region and the ongoing strategy, operations, and commercial performance of Disney’s DTC business.
Prior to that Luke was at Sky for 8 years, where he led the transformation of Sky’s On Demand services and the launch and rapid growth of a range of products, including Sky Store, Sky Box Sets, and Sky Q. In 2017 he became Chief Marketing Officer, responsible for marketing strategy and communications across Sky’s TV, broadband and mobile businesses.
Before joining Sky, Luke spent five years at BBC Studios, the BBC’s commercial arm, where he was Managing Director of BBC.com and Global iPlayer, leading the rapid expansion of the corporation's global digital businesses across online, mobile and video on demand.
Luke has a first class degree from Oxford University in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, and a Masters in Modern Indian History. He lives in North London with his wife and three daughters.
Marco De Ruiter
Country Manager, The Walt Disney Company Belgium, the Netherlands & Luxembourg
Marco De Ruiter
Country Manager, The Walt Disney Company Belgium, the Netherlands & Luxembourg
Marco de Ruiter was named Country Manager for The Walt Disney Company Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg in 2019. In this role, Marco is responsible for more than 3,000 hours of live sports programming every year in The Netherlands. Marco is also responsible for the local media businesses.
Prior to joining Disney, Marco held a wide range of executive roles at FOX Networks Group (FNG). Before FNG, Marco was an executive at Viacom for 11 years, where he was responsible for the operations in all countries and also acted as Managing Director for Viacom’s International Media Centers.
Marco began his career in retail and e-commerce, as Finance Manager for Ceteco in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Hélène Etzi
Country Manager and General Manager Media, The Walt Disney Company France
Hélène Etzi
Country Manager and General Manager Media, The Walt Disney Company France
Hélène Etzi was appointed Country Manager and General Manager Media, The Walt Disney Company France in 2019. In this role, Hélène has responsibility for all The Walt Disney Company’s French business activities, including Disney+, TV channels and content sales.
Prior to her current role, Hélène served as General Manager Disney Channels EMEA and before as Chief Marketing Officer for Disney in France in addition to her role of Managing Director of Disney Channel France.
Prior to joining Disney, Hélène was Director of Sales and Marketing at Easynet and previously was at Telco Orange.
Daniel Frigo
Country Manager, The Walt Disney Company Italy and Türkiye & Head of Studio Distribution, Italy
Daniel Frigo
Country Manager, The Walt Disney Company Italy and Türkiye & Head of Studio Distribution, Italy
Daniel Frigo is Country Manager of The Walt Disney Company Italy and Türkiye. In this role, Daniel is responsible for all lines of business across Disney’s portfolio of brands and properties in the regions. He is also responsible for Studio Distribution in Italy.
For over 20 years, prior to moving to his role as Country Manager Italy and Türkiye, Daniel held a wide range of studio distribution and leadership roles in EMEA and the United States including serving as Executive Vice President and General Manager of The Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group EMEA.
Amy Holland
Vice President, Corporate Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility, The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Amy Holland
Vice President, Corporate Communications & Corporate Social Responsibility, The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Amy Holland was appointed Vice President, Corporate Communications and Social Responsibility, EMEA in 2023. In this role, Amy is responsible for Corporate and Internal Communications as well as Social Responsibility.
Prior to this role, Amy was Director of Comms and Social for Disney+ and Media Networks. Previously, Amy worked at Sky for nine years, most recently as Head of Corporate Reputation and Campaigns.
Amy began her career at full-service consultancy, Ketchum.
Lee Jury
Senior Vice President, Studios Marketing, Live Events and Music, The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)
Lee Jury
Senior Vice President, Studios Marketing, Live Events and Music, The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)
Lee Jury was appointed in this role in 2019, with responsibility of all aspects of marketing for theatrical, streaming and home entertainment titles across the Walt Disney Studios, which include Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Twentieth Century, and Searchlight.
In addition Lee leads Disney Theatrical Group & Disney Music Group.
Lee joined The Walt Disney Company in 1995.
Nikki Keat
Chief Regional Counsel of The Walt Disney Corporation Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)
Nikki Keat
Chief Regional Counsel of The Walt Disney Corporation Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)
Nikki Keat was appointed Chief Regional Counsel in 2023. Nikki is responsible for all legal and regulatory matters impacting Disney’s businesses in EMEA.
For over 27 years, prior to taking up the Chief Regional Counsel role, Nikki held a wide range of senior legal roles at The Walt Disney Company across EMEA, APAC and LATAM.
Nikki is a qualified solicitor, and prior to joining Disney worked in media and IP law in London for Stephens Innocent and RCP&G.
Toby List
Vice President, Human Resources, The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Toby List
Vice President, Human Resources, The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Toby was appointed Vice President, Human Resources in 2023. In this role Toby is responsible for Human Resources strategy and operations in the EMEA region.
Toby has worked for The Walt Disney Company since 2009 in HR leadership roles in EMEA, APAC and the US, prior to joining Disney, Toby worked for the WPP Group in a variety of HR roles.
Diego Londono
Executive Vice President, Media Networks and Content, The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Diego Londono
Executive Vice President, Media Networks and Content, The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Diego Londono was appointed Executive Vice President, Media Networks and Content in 2019. In this role, he is responsible for the P&L of the channels business across the four genres (kids, factual, entertainment and sports), and leads the company’s content strategy for Disney+, overseeing the commissioning of local originals and content acquisitions for EMEA.
Diego joined The Walt Disney Company following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox following a tenure of 22 years in which he held a variety of leadership roles.
Eun-Kyung Park
Country Manager and Senior Vice President, General Manager Media, The Walt Disney Company Germany, Switzerland & Austria
Eun-Kyung Park
Country Manager and Senior Vice President, General Manager Media, The Walt Disney Company Germany, Switzerland & Austria
Eun-Kyung Park was appointed Country Manager of The Walt Disney Company Germany, Switzerland and Austria (GSA) in July 2023. She is responsible for all business segments of this media company, while also having direct responsibility for the media business including Disney+, TV Networks, ad sales and media distribution in the German-speaking region.
Eun-Kyung is a digital pioneer and visionary manager with deep strategic digital and content knowledge. She began her career at Bertelsmann in 2001, where she worked for the Bertelsmann Group in China and France for several years and was responsible for the management and turnaround of a China-wide bookselling chain and the establishment and management of a Korean Chinese start-up in the children's education sector. In her final role, she was responsible for corporate development at the DirectGroup Executive Board division.
Prior to joining The Walt Disney Company, Eun-Kyung served as Chief Digital Officer at ProSiebenSat.1, leading all digital and linear content offerings. In this role, she was instrumental in the successful launch of the video streaming and live TV platform “Joyn” and member of the supervisory board of Joyn. During her 10 years at ProSiebenSat.1, she held various senior positions, first as Managing Director for the digital video business, then in 2012 as Managing Director of the TV channel “sixx” before being promoted to the Board of the ProSiebenSat1. TV Deutschland GmbH leading New Business & Digital Strategy for TV Networks. She then held the Managing Director position of ad sales & marketing at Seven. One Ad-Factory GmbH, and later adding the investment company SevenVentures GmbH to her remit before returning to her digital roots in 2018.
She has served as Member of the Supervisory Boards of Software AG and ad pepper media international NV.
Nami Patel
Senior Vice President, Business Development & Strategy, The Walt Disney Company EMEA
Nami Patel
Senior Vice President, Business Development & Strategy, The Walt Disney Company EMEA
Nami Patel is Senior Vice President Business Development & Strategy for The Walt Disney Company, EMEA. She is responsible for all strategic initiatives and planning, new launches, and identifying growth opportunities for the EMEA business.
Nami joined the Walt Disney Company, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, where she was SVP Business Development for Fox Networks Group (FNG) Europe & Africa. Accomplishments in this role include the development and launch of VOD products FOX+ and National Geographic+, establishing the growth plan for National Geographic’s consumer products and travel businesses in Europe, local partnerships relating to IP development, ad sales and affiliate operations, and joint venture initiatives to expand the FOX Sports business across the region. Since 2016, Nami has also held the position of Chief Financial Officer for FNG’s UK operations.
Nami first joined FNG’s parent company, 21st Century Fox, in 2010 (then News Corporation). In her role as Finance & Corporate Development Director for Europe & Asia, Nami was responsible for financial oversight of 21CF’s portfolio of businesses including Sky Italy, Sky Germany, Star India, Fox Turkey and various JVs in the Middle East. She also had a leading role in Finance and Commercial workstreams for all M&A activity, most notably the Sky Italy/Germany sale to BSkyB, and the Endemol/Shine merger in 2014.
Prior to her roles at 21st Century Fox, Nami held various positions within Deloitte’s Assurance & Advisory Group, where she qualified as a Chartered Accountant and went on to lead client engagements across Retail, Services and TMT industries.
Nami holds a Masters degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, was recognised in Management Today’s Top 35 Women under 35, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
NICK RUSH
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STUDIO DISTRIBUTION, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY EMEA
NICK RUSH
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STUDIO DISTRIBUTION, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY EMEA
As Senior Vice President of Studio Distribution for The Walt Disney Company EMEA, Nick leads all distribution activities across Theatrical and Physical Home Entertainment for our combined Walt Disney Studios businesses in EMEA - Disney, Walt Disney Animation, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, LucasFilm Ltd, Twentieth Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures.
Previously, Nick was Vice President, Hardlines, Games and Interactive Experience for the Consumer Products, Games and Experiences (CPGP) division of Disney EMEA, where he had commercial responsibility for the Toys and Video Games categories. Nick also led Franchise strategy and commercialisation for the Lucasfilm and 20th Century consumer products business in this role.
Prior to that, Nick held various other senior roles in the business including Vice President of Finance for CPGP in EMEA and Vice President of Finance for Walt Disney Studios EMEA, which he combined with being Chief Financial Officer for TWDC Central & Eastern Europe and Vice President, Finance, Franchise & Marketing.
Nick’s career at Disney spans over twenty-five years, having joined the Company in 1994. Prior to joining The Walt Disney Company Nick worked for BMW UK and Grand Metropolitan Brewing.
Nick is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA). He is based in London.
Claire Terry
Senior Vice President, Consumer Products, Games & Publishing (CPGP), EMEA
Claire Terry
Senior Vice President, Consumer Products, Games & Publishing (CPGP), EMEA
Claire was appointed in September 2022 and is responsible for bringing the Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars brands into the lives of fans and families across the region through physical and digital products and experiences. Critical to this role is the go to market strategy to deliver innovative and best in class retail activations, including the rapidly expanding ecommerce platform shopDisney.
The scale and breadth of the EMEA business is significant, encompassing must-have toys; sustainable and inclusive lines; limited edition collectibles and homewares, through to luxury apparel collaborations and sell-out NFTs. Industry leading Creative and Product Development extends storytelling to world class product execution, delighting and inspiring imaginations.
Previously, Claire led the Hardlines and Games businesses for EMEA, implementing diversification into new categories and demographics, and onboarding new partners in Luxury Hardlines and Tech, signalling a fully reimagined business designed to deliver against an ambitious growth trajectory.
Prior to this, Claire was CPGP EMEA Head of Business Operations, where she was instrumental in successfully establishing a regional transformation strategy and operationalising a new structure.
During more than 18 years in the division, she has also led the UK Consumer Products business, the largest within the regional portfolio, and managed the commercial performances of key retailer relationships such as Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's.
She advocates for responsible and diverse business practices and was one of the founding members of the dedicated CPGP Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Global Committee, whose purpose is to ensure accountability and evaluate progress against key pillars within the business.
Claire is married with two children, and she holds a BA (Hons) degree in Business Studies and studied in Birmingham.
Hans van Rijn
Country Manager and Head of Media, The Walt Disney Company Nordics
Hans van Rijn
Country Manager and Head of Media, The Walt Disney Company Nordics
Hans van Rijn is the Country Manager for The Walt Disney Company Nordics where he also has direct responsibility for the local media business.
Hans joined the Walt Disney Company following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, where he was GM for the Nordic region of the Fox Networks Group (FNG), driving engagement and value from linear and digital video products reaching +14m people on a monthly basis.
Since joining FNG in 2017, he has been a driving force behind new, groundbreaking partnerships in the region including the launch of a new streaming and TV service in Denmark with YouSee, the consolidation of the Finnish TV advertising market with Sanoma Media, becoming the strategic partner of Nordic Entertainment Group and the roll out of FOX+, National Geographic+, the National Geographic free-to-air channel in Finland and the Xee brand in Denmark.
Prior to joining FNG, Hans held the role as Vice President, Global Digital Strategy and Business Development for Discovery Networks International across its five regional operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa; Latin America/US Hispanic and Asia-Pacific. This included overseeing 20 premium online video services, 100 channel websites, 60 YouTube channels and 300 social media services. Previously, Hans also worked as Nordic Director, Business Development & Digital Media at SBS Broadcasting, where he built the digital business of SBS Media with its portfolio of market leading TV and Radio brands in the Nordics. He was also part of the SBS Nordic management team that secured the sale of the Nordic operation to Discovery Inc.
He has also held positions at SBS Radio (Group Programme & Marketing Director, Nordics & CEE) and ProSiebenSat.1 Media (Group Programme & Marketing Director – Music TV).
Throughout his career, Hans has achieved multiple successes in the audio and video landscape including leading roles in devising and executing user-centric products in OTT, audio streaming, TV and radio across Europe.