Kristen Finney has been named executive vice president of content curation for Disney’s International Content and Operations group. The newly created role will report to Rebecca Campbell, the chairman of the IC&O group, and will manage the group’s strategy in Europe, Africa, Latin America, the West Asia and Asia Pacific. It will be her job to work with each regional content team managing content streaming services. This includes Disney+, Disney+ Hotstar, Star and Star+, along with Disney’s linear television stations.
Along with working with the regional content teams, Finney will also be building at team to evaluate the needs for Disney+ and Star. This will focus on international content acquisition cross-regional licensing opportunities, content slates and pipelines. She will also work with teams from Disney Media and Entertainment Distributions streaming services, finances, and strategy teams to support IC&O’s plans.
“Kristen has a proven track record of delivering successful content strategies. This expertise, combined with her skillful ability to build and lead innovative teams, makes her the perfect candidate for this important new role,” said Rebecca Campbell in a statement. “Her extensive and diverse experience will make her a vital part of our IC&O leadership team.”
Before her current role, Finney worked at Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution as the Executive Vice President of content distribution strategy and development for the platform distribution team. Prior to Disney she held leadership positions at Twentieth Century Fox as an Executive Vice President of television distribution and as Senior Vice President of worldwide pay TV and SVOD. Finney graduated from Stanford Law School. Her career started as an associate for two law firms at New York. She began working in media as director of legal affairs for Discovery Communications. She then went to Twentieth as senior counsel.
“I am excited to join the new International Content and Operations organization and to have the opportunity to work closely with Rebecca and this team of internationally respected content creators,” Finney said in a statement. “The regional teams in IC&O are building a truly impressive slate of engaging and entertaining content, and I look forward to driving strategic opportunities as we aggressively expand these local offerings around the globe.”
