The President of Worldwide Distribution at The Walt Disney Studios Dave Hollis is departing the company to move to Texas and become CEO of his wife’s company, Chic Media. His duties will be filled by 24-year Disney veteran Cathleen Taff who has been named Executive Vice President, Theatrical Distribution, Franchise Management and Business & Audience Insights.
“The creation of this new role is a significant step in more effectively supporting and expanding the presence of The Walt Disney Studios’ world-class collection of filmmaking studios, and Cathleen Taff is the perfect person to take it on, having demonstrated an expansive knowledge of our business, incisive creative instincts, and boundless resourcefulness over the course of her multifaceted career at Disney,” said Alan Bergman, President, The Walt Disney Studios. “Having worked closely with Cathleen for over 20 years, I know her to be a savvy business executive and a skilled team and relationship builder who is greatly respected across the board by colleagues and filmmakers. I could not be more thrilled to work with her as we continue to evolve our Studio business.”
“It’s an exciting time at our Studio as we continue to chart new territory in so many areas, and when we approached the idea of more closely aligning our robust global distribution operation with our franchise and analytics work, we saw a compelling opportunity to further leverage the strengths of these fantastic teams,” Taff said. “I’m honored to take on this unique role and, most of all, thankful to be working with the best people in the business, who represent, to me, the limitless possibility that makes Disney special.”
Hollis has lead distribution since 2011 when long-time leader Chuck Viane retired. Taff has lead franchise management & audience insights for Disney while previously leading the Disney Music Group.