Today, December 22, 2021, Horacio Gutierrez, formerly of Spotify, has been named Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of The Walt Disney Company.
What’s Happening:
- Horacio Gutierrez has been named Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of The Walt Disney Company, it was announced today by Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer.
- Gutierrez joins Disney from Spotify, where he formerly served as Head of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer. His appointment is effective February 1, 2022, and he will report directly to Mr. Chapek.
- Gutierrez will succeed longtime Disney veteran Alan Braverman who, as was announced in July, is retiring after nearly two decades as General Counsel. As General Counsel and Secretary, Gutierrez will serve as the chief legal officer of the Company, overseeing its team of attorneys responsible for all aspects of Disney’s legal affairs around the world, and acting as a strategic advisor to executive leadership and the Board of Directors.
- For the past two years, Gutierrez has served as Head of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer for Spotify, leading a global, multi-disciplinary team of business, corporate communications and public affairs, government relations, licensing, operations, and legal professionals responsible for the company’s work in areas including industry relations, content partnerships, public policy, and trust & safety. He was previously Spotify’s General Counsel and Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs from 2016 to 2019.
What They’re Saying:
- Chief Executive Officer, Bob Chapek said:
- “Horacio is an incredibly skilled attorney and dynamic leader who comes to Disney with 35 years of legal experience in markets around the globe. Having spent more than two decades working for premier technology companies, he has an extensive understanding of the complex legal questions that come with technological disruption and rapid industry change,”
- “Horacio is a key addition to my leadership team, and I look forward to working with him as he builds on Alan’s outstanding legacy leading our unparalleled legal organization.”
- Newly appointed Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Horacio Gutierrez said:
- “I am humbled to have the opportunity to lead Disney’s global legal organization, to work with Bob Chapek and his leadership team, and to contribute to one of the most admired and beloved companies in the world as it builds on its many strengths and transforms for the future,”
- “It is a particular honor for me to succeed Alan Braverman, an iconic figure in the legal profession, who over the last two decades has built one of the largest and most admired legal departments in the world.”