Geoff Morrell Released as Disney’s Chief of Communications After the Florida Debacle; Kristina Schake and Horacio Gutierrez to Separate Their Roles

Less than four months later, there has been another change of communications guard at The Walt Disney Company.

Injured by the ongoing war and internal conflict with Florida Governor and POTUS 2024 hopeful Ron Landing, Jeff Morel is the corporate relations director for Mouse House.

CEO Bob Chapek sent his employees a note today regarding Morel’s departure. “I am writing to share with you the news that our corporate director, Jeff Morel, will be leaving the company to seek other opportunities,” the CEO said shortly before the former Pentagon spokesman named his successors. See Chapek’s full note below.

Morel also sent an email on Friday. “After spending three months in this new role, I realized that it wasn’t appropriate for many reasons,” he told his team.

Biden member and final Disney addon Christina Shake, who split Morel’s role, will lead Disney’s communications efforts. Horatio Gutierrez, the firm’s general counsel, will focus on government relations and global public policy. Additionally, Jenny Cohen, EVP of Corporate Social Responsibility, will now report directly to Chapek as Disney tries to figure out where they stand and to whom they donate.

Morel’s loss also reveals cracks in a pretty solid wall of Chapek’s loyalty so far. More precisely, with the Disney periphrase FascinationIf we’re not talking about Florida, we’re not talking about Florida.

Caught in a constant storm of corporate missteps over Disney’s silence and then an ever-changing position with the Sunshine State’s discriminatory “Gay Discourse” law, and subsequently the legal abandonment of Disney World’s self-governing status, Morel’s game was over . In recent weeks, yes, it’s considered a problem when there isn’t. Even in the darkness beyond the clouds, Disney employees who are members of the LGBTQ+ community reacted sharply to what they perceived as the abandonment of Chapek, Morel and senior management. Some responded in the halls of power, while others anxiously took to the streets and online; this is an extremely rare sight for a company with a culture of keeping everything behind closed doors.

Republicans and Fox News have indulged in words like “decorating” Disney and making the company the electoral pin in the latest version of the Culture Wars, hoping Morel’s dismissal and a new reorganization will allow the media giant to be at its highest level. It emerged from under the falling debris of the current situation.

In the closing days of Bob Iger’s reign in December, Morel was announced as the successor to Zenia Mucha, Disney’s vice president and head of communications. When Chapek, a former theme park boss, tried to set up his own label at a longtime company, GOP and BP veteran Morel was seen as a clear indicator of which direction he was heading. to run a good ship. disney

Now that Morel is bloodless, the question is whether the new communications equipment will help his boss avoid obvious icebergs.

Here is Chapek’s Memorandum to Employees:

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I am writing to share the news that our Corporate Director, Jeff Morel, has left the company to pursue other opportunities. Fortunately, the strength and experience of our current leadership team, including the hiring of a relatively new star, means there is no shortage of talent to manage our reputation building functions. Now that Jeff is gone, I’m happy to share the following changes:

First, Christina Sheck will lead the Walt Disney Company’s communications efforts, she will be our Vice President of Global Communications and will report directly to me. In this expanded role, Christina will oversee corporate and segment communications and will continue to be our keynote speaker. Our business segment and content communications leaders will continue to deliver recurring reports on both Divisional leadership and corporate communications, now led by Christina.

We are incredibly lucky to have Christina with us at this important time. His 30 years of experience include leadership roles in President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine education program, communications on Instagram and leadership positions in political campaigns and the Obama White House. Christina has a strategic approach and a collaborative style, as well as a relentless optimism, and values ​​our brand and its place in the world highly. These qualities will be invaluable as they work to protect and strengthen our reputation and I look forward to working more closely with him.

Therefore, government relations and global public policy will now be handled by our General Counsel, Horatio Gutierrez. Since joining the company earlier this year, Horatio has seamlessly integrated into the Disney family and has quickly become a key advisor to me and the leadership team on a wide variety of issues. His vast experience in leading these areas will be incredibly helpful in guiding our efforts.

In addition to their current direct presentations, Susan Fox, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, and Yvonne Pei, Senior Vice President of Foreign Affairs of Greater China, will join Dorothy Atwood, Senior Vice President of Global Public Policy, at Horatio’s direct address. .

Finally, Jenny Cohen, Executive Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility, is now the only person I will report to in a role of leading our CSR and ESG efforts. Jenny is a strong leader and has done a great job modernizing our approach in key areas such as environmental sustainability, community investment and philanthropy.

I have tremendous confidence in this team and look forward to working with them and all of our leadership to pave the way for the next 100 years of Disney’s extraordinary entertainment and experience.