Longtime YouTube and Google executive Adam Smith has been named Chief Product & Technology Officer, Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
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He takes the senior post after the exit in June of Aaron LaBerge, who is now Chief Technology Officer at PENN Entertainment, Disney’s partner on ESPNBet. The Smith hire was announced by Disney Entertainment Co-Chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, to whom he will jointly report.
In the previous executive structure, Jerrell Jimerson served as Chief Product Officer for Disney Streaming until his departure in 2023 during companywide layoffs.
Upon his official start on September 3, Smith will oversee the company’s global Product and Technology group, which spans Disney’s entertainment and sports media businesses. He will be responsible for “driving technology strategy, development, deployment and continued innovation across the company’s streaming platforms and networks, portfolio of consumer digital touchpoints, proprietary advertising technology, emerging technologies, and more,” a press release said. Under his aegis will be a team of technologists, including engineers, product managers and designers, data scientists and technical operations teams.
Smith joins Disney from YouTube, where he most recently served as VP, Product Management, leading Music and Premium as well as Subscriptions and Commerce since 2016. During more than 20 years at Google and YouTube, Smith held executive roles across numerous divisions. At YouTube, he played an integral role in building out its biggest consumer-facing products, driving its Music and Premium offering to over 100 million subscribers, as well as stints leading Global Content and Product across kids, sports, news and education, and as the regional head for Asia-Pacific. Within Google, he led development and strategy for a series of key products and groups including Google Fiber, Google APAC, and a portfolio that included Google Books, Google News, Google Finance and Google Scholar.
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“We could not be more thrilled to have Adam join the Disney team in this pivotal role,” the chairmen said in a joint statement. “We’ve been aggressive in advancing our technological capabilities to better support our world-class media, streaming and advertising businesses, and Adam brings a bold, consumer-focused vision for the future and a proven ability to effectively lead global teams in implementing ambitious, scalable and flexible products and technology that will continue to elevate storytelling as the center of the Disney experience.”
Smith previously held roles at Random House/Bertelsmann.
“Disney has built and nurtured an unparalleled portfolio of brands bringing joy and delight to fans of all ages, thanks to a culture of creativity that embraces innovation,” Smith said. “I believe Disney is uniquely positioned to thrive in the next evolution of media and has made significant progress in a very short time while keeping storytelling front and center. I look forward to working closely with Alan, Dana and Jimmy and their top-notch teams and am excited to bring my expertise in utilizing technology to build compelling consumer experiences that will drive engagement and discovery among fans, families and friends.”
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