Disney Ups Pair of Execs

BURBANK: Disney has announced a pair of promotions within Disney Media Distribution and Disney & ESPN Media Networks.

Mia Rondinella was upped to senior VP of global distribution and strategy. Rondinella will manage the Disney & ESPN Media Networks’ domestic affiliate sales and marketing business strategy group and oversee the global-distribution business operations and strategy team for Disney Media Distribution. Rondinella and her team will provide strategic insight into the future direction of the industry, and evaluate and identify distribution opportunities to create value for consumers and business affiliates.

Based in Burbank, she will report to both Ben Pyne, the president of global distribution at Disney Media Networks, and Justin Connolly, the executive VP of affiliate sales and marketing at Disney & ESPN Media Networks. She served most recently as VP of consumer data and analytics at Disney/ABC Television Group.

“Given Mia’s experience across the company, her business acumen, analytical skills and leadership qualities, she will be a great leader of this group and a strong collaborator,” said Pyne. “We have had the pleasure of working closely with Mia over many years, and we look forward to working with her in this new capacity.”

Added Connolly: “As the distribution landscape gets ever more expansive and complex, Mia is well-suited to help us navigate this challenging environment. Mia will be instrumental in maximizing our collective value in the marketplace both in the U.S. and across the world.”

Additionally, Jimmy Zasowski has been promoted to VP of business strategy at Disney & ESPN Media Networks. In his new role, Zasowski will be responsible for developing and executing distribution strategies for the Disney & ESPN Media Networks. He will also focus on helping develop distribution models for new products and services across existing and new distribution partners. Zasowski will report to Rondinella and will continue to be based in New York.

Most recently, Zasowski served as senior director of affiliate sales at Disney & ESPN Media Networks, where he managed multiplatform content distribution and licensing for the ABC, Disney and ESPN portfolios.