California: Walt Disney’s Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy is taking a family medical leave of absence, stepping down from her role at the world’s largest entertainment company.
She will be replaced on an interim basis by Kevin Lansberry, the CFO of Disney’s theme parks division, the company said in a statement Thursday. The change is effective July 1. She will continue to serve as a strategic adviser.
“Although I am leaving the CFO role, I look forward to helping with the transition and will always be rooting for the success of my extended Disney family,” McCarthy said in the statement.
McCarthy, 67, joined Disney in 2000 and was elevated to CFO in 2015. In that position she helped complete the company’s $71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets as well as navigate the pandemic that shut down much of Disney’s business globally. McCarthy pushed internally for former Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger to return to that job in November. She’s a board member at Procter & Gamble Co.
In the statement, Iger praised McCarthy’s contributions to the company, saying she was “a role model for women at every level of business “not just at Disney, but around the world.”
Lansberry is also a Disney veteran, having worked at the company for three decades.
Disney shares fell less than 1 per cent in after-hours trading.
