Disney technology executive Aaron LaBerge has left the company for personal reasons

Disney Entertainment and ESPN Chief Technology Officer Aaron LaBerge is leaving the companies, according to an internal memo.

LaBerge serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Penn Entertainment, which operates ESPN Bet, the sports media company’s licensed online sportsbook. He will be responsible for driving technology strategy as an executive in the company’s interactive division. Laberge is leaving for personal reasons related to his family and will remain at Disney through June, the memo said.

Laberge has been a key figure in the development of Disney’s streaming service and most recently in integrating advertising into Disney+. He led the effort to merge Hulu and Disney+ into a single streaming app, debuted last month.

At ESPN, LaBerge was a central figure behind the company’s streaming services, including the upcoming sports streaming app ESPN+, which is co-owned by Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery Channel and Fox, as well as ESPN’s flagship streamer due to launch in 2025.

His departure adds to a growing list of senior Disney executives who have left the company in recent years. They include former CEO Bob Chapek, former streaming head Kevin Mayer, former finance chief Christine McCarthy, former Walt Disney Pictures office chairman Alan Horne, former Disney general counsel Alan Braverman, former communications chief Xenia Mucha and former Walt Disney president Sean Bailey. .

“We want to thank Aaron for his 20 years of service and leadership at Disney,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pietro, Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden and Alan Bergman said in an internal note to employees at PENN Entertainment, adding that there is a silver lining that he will bring to Disney and ESPN. He will continue to help win – he will be a key partner in the continued growth and success of ESPN BET (as well as their other interactive companies).” business).”

According to his biography, LaBerge is “responsible for helping set the company’s vision and strategic leadership, how the company uses technology to tell stories and innovate, drive business growth and create amazing consumer experiences through entertainment and sports content.” “

The search for LaBerge’s successor is already underway, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person asked to remain anonymous because transfer plans are private. Chris Lawson, currently Disney’s executive vice president of content operations and one of LaBarge’s direct reports, will take over on an interim basis following LaBarge’s departure.

Laberge first joined Disney as part of the company in the late 1990s. Zingbo Acquisition is a company founded by Paul Allen that worked with ESPN before Disney completely acquired ESPN in 1998.