The Walt Disney Company Taps Fox Exec for Senior Finance Role

The Walt Disney Company has appointed Ravi Ahuja as president of business operations and chief financial officer upon the close of the 21st Century Fox acquisition.

In this role, Ahuja will oversee finance, strategic planning, business development, affiliate sales and distribution, technology, music affairs, consumer insights and labor relations for the division. He will also work closely with the company’s direct-to-consumer and international divisions for advertising sales and content distribution.

Ahuja will report to Walt Disney Television’s new chairman Peter Rice and senior executive VP and chief financial officer Christine McCarthy. Robert Langer, who currently serves as Disney and ABC Television’s chief financial officer, will assume the role of executive VP of finance and planning for The Walt Disney Company and will also report to McCarthy.

Ahuja currently serves as chief financial officer for the Fox Networks Group (FNG), a position in which he oversees business development for Fox Cable News, Fox Sports Media Group and National Geographic Partners, among others. Prior to this position, he was FNG’s executive VP of business operations and development. Before he joined FNG in 2007, he spent eight years at Virgin Entertainment Group, ultimately serving as the company’s chief financial officer.