Disney activist investor Blackwells Capital has nominated three potential candidates for the Disney Board; Jessica Schell (a former general manager of Warner Bros Home Entertainment), Craig Hatkoff (Tribeca Film Festival co-founder), and Leah Solivan (former CEO of TaskRabbit). We will find out if those candidates make it onto the Disney Board on April 3.
Today, Blackwells Capital has released a presentation titled “The Future of Technology at The Walt Disney Company.”
Here are some takeaways from Blackwells Capital’s presentation:
Disney needs a corporate CTO
The very first takeaway from Blackwells Capital’s presentation is their push for one overarching Chief Technology Officer. Blackwells points out that the current CTOs are buried under corporate bureaucracy. Aaron Laberge, CTO of Disney Entertainment & ESPN, and Gail Evans, CTO of Disney Experiences report to different leaders. Blackwells suggests a new overarching CTO that would directly report to the CEO.
I actually could see Disney implementing this at some point. After all Disney CEO Bob Iger made Asad Ayaz, Disney’s first-ever Chief Brand Officer. So I wouldn’t discredit this potential strategic move. One CTO that could unify the complete Disney tech experience will be necessary at some point.
Blackwells also cited how Disney competitors like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple all have CTOs that report to their respective CEO’s.
Disney’s tech stack needs artificial intelligence and spatial computing (virtual reality and augmented reality)
Blackwells suggests that Disney needs a stronger tech stack. A native tech stack that can work across streaming, apps, media, and parks. Blackwells highlights artificial intelligence and spatial computing as promising new tech.
Blackwells Capital’s suggestions for Disney utilizing AI:
Blackwells Capital’s suggestions for Disney utilizing VR and AR:
For what it’s worth Disney is already making progress in spatial computing as its one of the main partners for Apple Vision Pro. Disney also has several Vision Pro projects in the works, including one based on Marvel Studios’ What If…?.
Blackwells Capital wants Disney to come up with an artificial intelligence strategy and share elements of it with shareholders. Blackwells Capital wants Disney to go further with spatial computing as they believe Disney guests should already be having Jedi spars on Tatooine and traversing the African plains with Simba and Nala.
Disney needs to innovate
Blackwells Capital is encouraging Disney to innovate more. They believe Disney needs to spend more on research & development. Amazon, Netflix, and Apple spend more on research & development, and Blackwells believes Disney can catch up.
Disney’s next CEO needs tech experience
As mentioned within the presentation, Blackwells Capital firmly believes that for Disney to regain its status and achieve dominance, its next CEO must have roots in technology. It’s possible Disney’s next CEO may have tech experience but it’s more likely Disney will want to find a candidate that can be a good steward of the Disney brand as well as understands the Disney Parks and the greater Disney flywheel.
Disney needs a venture arm
On the last slide of its presentation, Blackwells Capital suggests Disney needs a venture arm. Blackwells Capital imagines a more significant venture project than Disney’s current Accelerator program.
They believe Disney needs a single investment vehicle — that is not fragmented across divisions — to invest in early-stage companies and technologies, that complement Disney’s businesses.
Walt Disney Imagineering becomes the corporate innovation arm
This was just a sentence but it was a pretty big drop. I almost wish Blackwells Capital would elaborate on this idea but they want Walt Disney Imagineering to no longer be “just for the parks.” Instead, Walt Disney Imagineering would become a corporate innovation arm that would drive company-wide innovation.
This would cause a stir for sure but Disney having a corporate innovation arm does make sense, but not at the cost of the culture of Walt Disney Imagineering. Disney needs to restructure how Imagineering operates because it seems like nothing can get greenlit these days due to layers of executives.
Overall, the presentation was hammering home the fact that if Disney wants to be valued as a tech company, they have to act like a tech company. There are some headlines in here but there are also ideas that may happen under Iger at some point. I would also like to note that Blackwells Capital notes Disney’s main competition as Netflix, Amazon, and Apple. They don’t list Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, or Paramount because Disney is viewed as more valuable than those other conglomerates.
Disney’s Annual Shareholders Meeting is on April 3.
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Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
