Emily Feingold Joins Disney as Head of Communications

Emily Feingold has joined Walt Disney Co. as executive vice president of communications, the senior job that sets how the company speaks to reporters, investors and the public. She succeeds David Jefferson, according to Variety.

In the role, Feingold will oversee media relations, financial and technology communications, and the messaging used across enterprise editorial, executive and brand work. She reports to Paul Roeder, who became senior executive vice president and chief communications officer in March, when Josh D'Amaro was named Disney's chief executive.

Feingold comes from Netflix, where she worked for nine years. She joined the streaming service in 2017 and was most recently its vice president of communications. She had been promoted to that job in 2022, overseeing communications for the United States and Canada. She left Netflix on June 3, 2026, TV News Check reported. Her Disney start came about five months later.

Her earlier jobs include senior vice president of corporate strategy and communications at Andell Inc. and vice president of corporate communications at Ralph Lauren. She began her career at the White House.

Jefferson is leaving after 15 years as a senior corporate communications executive at Disney. He accepted the company's voluntary early retirement offer, which lets eligible staff leave before the usual retirement age. He will stay on through the end of the month to help with the handover.

His route to Disney began in 2009, when he joined the company's public relations team at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. He left at the end of 2010 and came back in January 2013 in a corporate communications role. He was promoted to executive vice president of corporate communications in March 2025.

Before his first Disney stint, he spent 14 years at the Wall Street Journal, including as deputy Los Angeles bureau chief. He also worked for eight years as a top editor at Newsweek. After leaving Disney the first time, he returned to Newsweek and later worked at The Daily Beast.

For anyone following the company, the change is a shift in who fronts the communications team rather than a change in what it does. The handover runs through November, with Jefferson still in the building. After that, Feingold will be the one answering the phone when reporters call about Disney.