The Walt Disney Company has promoted content marketing guru Asad Ayaz to the newly created role of chief marketing and brand officer.
This is the first time Family Monolith has installed a CMO across its business. Ayaz has spent the past eight years overseeing marketing for Walt Disney Studios, which includes Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and Disney’s live-action and animation labels.
In this upgraded role, Ayaz will lead a new internal organization comprised of all of Disney’s marketing teams (including teams from parks, sports and other divisions), designed to “support a more collaborative approach to how Disney reaches audiences, enhances campaigns, and advances the business goals of each division and the company as a whole,” Wednesday’s announcement said.
Ayaz will report to Disney CEO Bob Iger, as well as vertical leaders Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, parks director Josh D’Amaro and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro.
“For more than 20 years, Assad served as Disney’s first chief brand officer and through his outstanding leadership, he helped bring the magic of Disney to millions of people,” said Iger. “As our business evolves, it’s clear that we need a company-wide role that ensures brand consistency and allows today’s consumers to seamlessly interact with our great products and experiences. The role of Chief Marketing and Brand Officer is critical at this time, and Asad is the perfect fit.”
Walden, Bergman, D’Amaro and Pitaro agreed that Ayaz is “an exceptional creative leader with strong strategic and operational capabilities and deep experience across Disney and its brands, and we are excited about what we can accomplish together as we strengthen the connection between Disney and audiences around the world.”
Last year, Ayaz propelled Disney to No. 1 in global box office market share, becoming the only movie studio group to surpass $6.5 billion in ticket sales through campaigns for “Zootopia 2,” “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” and “Lilo & Stitch.” His streaming triumphs include the release of Taylor Swift’s concert film “Ellas Tour” and subsequent documentary series, and the award-winning “Andor.” 2026 will be a big year for Disney, with Toy Story 5, the Star Wars film The Mandalorian and Grogu, the live-action Moana, and of course Avengers: Doomsday all hitting theaters.
