Adam Smith has been named the chief product & technology officer of Disney Entertainment and ESPN. The role was previously held by Aaron LaBerge.

Adam Smith Named Chief Product & Technology Officer, Disney Entertainment & ESPN

Former YouTube vice president of product management Adam Smith has been named chief product & technology officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN. The announcement was made on August 15, 2024, by Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro. Smith will join Disney on September 3.

Smith will be tasked with leading a team of technologists, including engineers, product managers and designers, data scientists, and technical operations teams from around the world. In his new role, Smith 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.  

Smith said the following regarding his new role:

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. 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.

For 20 years, Smith served in numerous executive roles across many divisions at Google and YouTube. Some of the highlights of his career include building out YouTube’s biggest consumer-facing products and driving YouTube’s Music and Premium offering to over 100 million subscribers. He also led YouTube’s Global Content and Product division, covering kids, sports, news, and education, and he served as the regional head for Asia-Pacific. At 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.

Bergman, Walden, and Pitaro released a joint statement regarding Smith.

We could not be more thrilled to have Adam join the Disney team in this pivotal role. 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.

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