Dana Walden

Dana Walden started out in public relations before pivoting to TV programming and development. She joined Disney in 2019 with the company’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox. In 2023 Walden became cochairman of Disney Entertainment, overseeing all entertainment and news content globally. In that same year, the division proved to be the company’s largest revenue stream, generating $40.6 billion. She is the sole entertainment industry representative on the President’s Export Council, the principal national advisory committee on international trade. Walden, who is widely considered to be a possible successor to Disney CEO Bob Iger, has achieved some notable wins over the past year: The entertainment portion of Disney’s streaming business is profitable for the first time, and Disney took home 60 awards at this year’s Emmys—the most won by any company ever.