Karl Holmes has been named SVP, Direct to Consumer & General Manager, Disney+, The Walt Disney Company EMEA, and will be stepping into the role in January 2025. Joining from Sky, the executive brings a wealth of direct-to-consumer experience from his career in media businesses with roles at Sky, 21st Century Fox and Tata Sky.
Holmes will assume responsibility for the Disney+ business across EMEA, leading the regional team and will be based in London. He will report to both Jan Koeppen, President, The Walt Disney Company EMEA, and Joe Earley, President, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment.
Jan Koeppen, President, The Walt Disney Company EMEA, commented: “Karl Holmes will join Disney+ in EMEA at a time when our DTC business goes from strength to strength across our region. With its award-winning shows and movies, Disney+ has something for everyone. Karl has a proven track record for building long-term success in consumer-facing businesses and I know under his leadership the team will flourish.”
Karl Holmes added: “For years I’ve admired Disney’s unique position as a business. As a long-time fan of the brand, I couldn’t be more excited to be joining the company to lead direct-to-consumer in EMEA, after a fantastic decade at Sky. I look forward to working with Jan, Joe and their brilliant teams as we head into the fifth year of Disney+ and bring Disney’s incredible storytelling to even more people.”
Holmes has spent the last decade at Sky in a variety of senior roles, leading large teams across functions including Marketing, Operations, Finance, Commercial and Data, and will bring a great breadth and depth of relevant experience to this role. During the last 10 years at Sky, he has served as Chief Operating Officer for Europe, Chief Consumer Revenue officer for the UK as well as Chief Financial Officer for the UK and Ireland and Group Chief Data Officer.