MULAN 
THE MANDALORIAN 
HAMILTON 
In the wake of a broad restructuring at the Walt Disney Company, Ricky Strauss, who led Disney Plus' content curation and marketing efforts, is departing the entertainment conglomerate at the end of the month, after nine years with the company. Joe Earley will add content curation of streaming service Disney Plus to his responsibilities, per an internal memo from Disney's chairman of international operations and direct-to-consumer Rebecca Campbell.Calling Strauss "an incredibly creative, dedicated leader" and noting his contributions to Disney...
Ricky
Strauss
President, Programming & Content Curation
It says a lot about Strauss, Disney’s priorities and the state of the entertainment industry in general that he was shifted from his role as marketing chief for the studio’s film slate in June 2018 and put in charge of both content and marketing for its signature OTT platform, Disney Plus, launched in November 2019. The move was a success, and Strauss was then given oversight of programming and content curation for both Disney Plus and Hulu. Internal projections had the new streamer amassing 60 to 90 million subscribers by 2024, but by December 2020 it had already passed 80 million, buoyed by original programming like “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian” and a filmed version of the Broadway smash “Hamilton,” the latter of which was fast-tracked from 2021 to the summer during the pandemic. Once president of Participant Media, Strauss joined Disney in 2012 to oversee marketing for blockbusters like “Black Panther” and “Star Wars.” He is set to step down from his position at the end of January 2021.
