EXCLUSIVE: Disney+ has promoted four executives in Europe as new content chief Angela Jain says she wants to set her team up “for long term success in EMEA.”
In one of her first big decisions since stepping into the role, Jain has promoted Rivals commissioner Lee Mason and Blind Date overseer Sean Doyle to VPs of Scripted and Unscripted respectively. The pair, who have been with the Disney+ interntional commissioning team in London almost since its inception, were previously titled Executive Director of Scripted Originals and Unscripted respectively, having been promoted to those roles in late 2024.
Meanwhile, A Thousand Blows exec Jonny Richards has been upped to Director of Scripted in the UK/EMEA, while in France, original productions director Kevin Deysson has stepped into a VP role.
The move comes via Jain’s blueprint on “setting Disney+ up for long-term success in EMEA,” according to an internal memo she sent earlier this week, seen by Deadline.
“These changes are focused on how we structure and strengthen the team for what comes next,” said Jain. “As our originals ambitions continue to grow, we need leaders with the expertise, judgement and vision to guide teams, develop talent and consistently deliver creative excellence at the highest level.”
Jain added that she is “building a team designed for the future, demonstrating our continued commitment to growing our originals pipeline and greenlighting even more ambitious productions.”
Disney+ has been making international originals for around six years, with success stories including Rivals, The Good Mothers and Extraordinary. Former ITV Studios unscripted boss Jain, whose credits include Love Island and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, took on the EMEA content job last year from Liam Keelan following a lengthy recruitment process, after Disney had initially made an audacious bid to poach then-BBC content chief Charlotte Moore.
Jain reports to Eric Schrier, president of Disney Television Studios and Global Original Television Strategy. Schrier was in the UK capital during the Content London event in December, meeting producers, press and his commissioners.
Disney has had a busy week in EMEA. On Tuesday, it revealed a talent deal with Adolescence and A Thousand Blows star Stephen Graham’s indie.