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Disney Hires Technology Veteran Diane Jurgens as CIO

Walt Disney Co. hired Diane Jurgens, a senior technology management exec with more than three decades of industry experience, as its new chief information officer.

Jurgens will start at Disney on Oct. 5 and report to McCarthy. Jurgens replaces Susan O’Day, who retired as Disney’s CIO and EVP of enterprise technology in January 2020.

Jurgens most recently served as CTO for BHP, a multinational mining, metals, and petroleum company based in Singapore. She previously held senior executive positions with companies in various industries including president and managing director of Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co., CIO for General Motors’ international operations, and as an executive at Boeing.

As Disney’s CIO, Jurgens will lead the company’s global Enterprise Technology organization, which includes enterprise business systems, infrastructure, workforce enablement, and enterprise resilience engineering. Her responsibilities also will include planning, prioritization, implementation and operations of Disney IT systems and infrastructure across the company.

“Diane is a proven global technology leader with strategic vision, and her talents will be a great asset to the company as our businesses and industry continue to evolve,” McCarthy said in a statement. “Her breadth of experience in driving technology and innovation on a worldwide scale make Diane the right choice for this role, and I am very excited to welcome her to my team.”

Jurgens commented, “I am incredibly grateful to Christine for the opportunity to be part of an amazing organization, and I look forward to working with the talented Disney team and leveraging my experience to contribute to the innovation and creativity that the company is known for around the globe.”

Jurgens holds an an M.S. and B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Washington and an MBA from Seattle University.

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