Alan Bergman (L) and Alan Horn attend the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 5, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California.
Alberto E. Rodriguez | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Disney veteran Alan Horn is stepping down as co-chairman of Walt Disney Studios, the company announced Monday.
Horn continues to serve as Disney’s chief creative officer, while his partner, Alan Bergman, manages Disney’s studio content as the sole chairman, effective January 1.
These executive shifts come less than two months after Disney announced it was restructuring its media and entertainment divisions to focus more on streaming content.
Horn, 77, and Bergman, 54, have jointly headed the studio group at Disney since May 2019 as co-chairmen. Together, the pair envisioned the integration of Lucasfilm and Fox’s film studios into the Walt Disney family and a new era of streaming content for Disney +.
During their tenure, the studio segment set a number of records at the box office and released blockbusters such as ‘Frozen’, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’, which is currently the highest grossing film of all. times.
“The performance of Walt Disney Studios led by Alan Horn and Alan Bergman was nothing short of extraordinary,” Bob Chapek, Disney CEO, said in a statement.
As chairman, Bergman will oversee the creative, production, marketing, and operations for Disney’s studio content, including Disney, Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century, Searchlight Pictures, and Blue Sky Studios. He will also oversee Disney’s theatrical productions.
“I am grateful to be able to take on the role of the studio’s president as I deeply believe in our people, culture and the work we do,” said Bergman, a 24-year Disney veteran.
Bergman was president of Walt Disney Studios from 2005 to 2019. In that role, he spearheaded the Pixar and Marvel Studios integrations and released 25 movies worth at least $ 1 billion at the worldwide box office.
As chief creative officer, Horn will focus on the creative aspects of the studio’s content pipeline. Before joining Disney, Horn was president and chief operating officer at Warner Bros. from 1999 to 2011.
“It has been an honor to lead The Walt Disney Studios for the past eight years,” said Horn. “It has been a great run, and the time feels right to just shift my focus to our massive creative slate.”
Disney announced about 100 film and TV projects last week during its annual investor day, of which about 80% will go directly to Disney +.