Disney Consumer Products Reorg Expands Roles for Cathleen Taff and Lisa Baldzicki

Disney is reshaping the leadership structure of its Consumer Products business, bringing global licensing and publishing closer to its studio operations while expanding the responsibilities of two longtime executives. The changes are designed to align Disney’s franchises and storytelling more closely with the products and publishing businesses built around them, while keeping Parks merchandise and Disney Store operations within Disney Experiences.

What’s Happening:

Effective October 4, Disney Consumer Products’ global licensing and publishing businesses will move under the Disney Studios umbrella. Meanwhile, Disney Parks merchandise and the company’s owned-and-operated retail businesses, including Disney Store locations and DisneyStore.com, will remain part of Disney Experiences, according to Deadline.
As part of the restructuring, Cathleen Taff has been named President, Disney Entertainment – Studios and Consumer Products. She will report to Alan Bergman, Chairman of Disney Studios, and will take on oversight of the incoming Consumer Products licensing and publishing operations.
Taff will retain many of her existing responsibilities at Disney Studios. Her expanded portfolio will continue to include production services, franchise management and theatrical distribution for Disney’s major studio labels, including Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures. She will also continue to oversee Disney Theatrical Group and Disney Music Group.
The move brings the licensing and publishing sides of Consumer Products more directly alongside the creative businesses responsible for many of Disney’s most recognizable franchises. The company has said the restructuring is intended to create closer alignment between its storytelling and the ways those stories are extended through consumer products and publishing.
Taff is a 30-year Disney veteran who has held a variety of senior leadership positions across the company. Her previous responsibilities have included technology and operations, labor relations and franchise management, in addition to leadership of Disney’s stage productions, music operations and theatrical distribution.
During her time overseeing theatrical distribution, Taff was part of Disney’s leadership during two of the company’s biggest worldwide box-office years. Disney reported more than $11 billion in global box office revenue in 2019, while the company has also released a series of films that crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office during the past several years.
Among those billion-dollar releases are Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, Moana 2, Lilo & Stitch, Zootopia 2, Avatar: Fire & Ash and Toy Story 5.
“Cathleen has been an invaluable partner and leader within our team, bringing the same creativity, rigor, and collaborative spirit to everything she does,” Bergman said. “As we bring Disney Consumer Products’ licensing and publishing businesses into Disney Entertainment, there’s no one better suited to guide this next chapter.”
Bergman added that Taff understands how to connect Disney’s stories and franchises with the different ways audiences engage with them, saying her leadership will help the businesses continue to grow while maintaining the focus and standards established within Studios.
While licensing and publishing will move to Studios, Disney is also expanding Lisa Baldzicki’s role within Disney Experiences.
Baldzicki will continue leading Disney Parks merchandise, but her responsibilities will expand to include global Parks merchandise as well as Disney’s owned-and-operated retail businesses. That includes Disney Store locations around the world and DisneyStore.com. She will report to Thomas Mazloum, Chairman of Disney Experiences.
Baldzicki will also lead a newly created team focused on identifying emerging consumer trends and opportunities and determining how successful ideas can be scaled across Disney Experiences’ global portfolio.
In her expanded position as EVP, Global Experience & Innovation, Baldzicki will work closely with leadership across Disney Experiences’ various businesses. The role places an increased emphasis on identifying what consumers are responding to and translating those insights into experiences and merchandise opportunities that can be applied across the company.
Baldzicki brings nearly three decades of experience in global retail and merchandising, with a background spanning wholesale, vertical retail and hospitality businesses. Her expanded responsibilities will connect those areas of expertise with Disney’s Parks and retail operations.
“Lisa is a proven leader who brings together industry expertise, strategic vision, and a genuine passion for Disney storytelling,” Mazloum said. “I’m thrilled to have her in a new role where her unique ability to anticipate what resonates with consumers and translate those insights into meaningful experiences that can scale will help shape the future of our businesses across Disney Experiences.”
The restructuring effectively divides Disney’s Consumer Products operations according to how different parts of the business connect with the company. Global licensing and publishing will sit alongside the Studios organizations and their creative franchises, while Parks merchandise and Disney’s direct retail operations will remain within Disney Experiences.
With the changes taking effect October 4, Taff and Baldzicki will each oversee expanded portfolios intended to strengthen the connection between Disney storytelling, consumer products, retail and the experiences built around the company’s franchises.

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Disney Details Consumer Products Reorganizes With Expanded Roles for Cathleen Taff and Lisa Baldzicki

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