In order to drive Disney’s strategy and continued growth in this dynamic region filled with such promise, the region’s leadership structure will now include a head of TWDC APAC and a separate head of TWDC India. Both roles will report to Ms. Campbell.
Luke Kang has been named President, The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific (APAC) and will oversee the company’s businesses in Australia/New Zealand, Greater China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia. A leader for the Company’s India business will be named in early 2021.
“With his deep understanding of our businesses in Asia Pacific, Luke is ideally suited to lead our efforts in the region. He has played a critical role in transforming our business in Asia optimizing operations, developing successful new revenue streams, and rapidly moving to roll out Disney+. I’m confident that he and our extended team will deliver even more value as we continue to manage and grow Disney’s DTC and media businesses in the region,” said Ms. Campbell.
“I’m grateful for the confidence Rebecca has placed in me,” said Mr. Kang. “I look forward to driving the Company’s business in Asia Pacific as we continue to evolve rapidly in order to engage our consumers across multiple touchpoints. It is an honor to build upon the legacy that Disney has established in some of the most exciting markets in the world and lead these amazing teams.”
In his new role, Mr. Kang will drive the strategy and growth of the Company in this dynamic region. He will oversee Disney’s media networks, direct-to-consumer offerings including Disney+, media distribution and motion picture businesses, as well as other operations across APAC (excluding Disney parks). He will continue driving growth, innovation and brand affinity across these extremely diverse markets, and will closely collaborate with the consumer products team.
Most recently, Mr. Kang served as executive vice president and managing director, The Walt Disney Company (TWDC), Greater China, Japan and Korea, overseeing all of Disney’s businesses in the area. From 2014-2017, he held the role of Executive Vice President & Managing Director, TWDC, Greater China based in Shanghai, China. Under his leadership, Mr. Kang led the team through significant organizational and strategic change to achieve consistent record growth across all business segments. Between 2016 – 2018, Disney was the number one studio at the Chinese box office releasing more films than any other foreign studio with six record-breaking movies exceeding the highly coveted RMB1Billion box office target and Consumer Products grew exponentially to become one of the largest markets outside of the United States.
In 2014 Mr. Kang moved to China as Managing Director, Disney Consumer Products and Disney Interactive, TWDC, Greater China. He managed two key business units inclusive of Consumer Products, Disney Stores China, Publishing, E-Commerce and Disney Interactive which included mobile, online, gaming and all franchise marketing. He first joined Disney in 2011 as Managing Director, TWDC, South Korea, based in Seoul.
Prior to joining Disney, he held various senior management roles with Viacom/MTV Networks in Asia Pacific, Monitor Group Asia Pacific Region, as well as startups in both Silicon Valley and Asia.
Mr. Kang holds a Master of Science degree in management as a Sloan Fellow from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan.
Tags: International Operations and Direct-to-Consumer, Walt Disney
