Burbank, Ca., May 13, 2008— Susan O’Day has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), it was announced today by Thomas O. Staggs, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, The Walt Disney Company, to whom Ms. O’Day will report. Ms. O’Day will lead the planning, implementation and operations of the common Disney IT systems and infrastructure across the Company, ensuring both their strategic relevance and operational effectiveness. Ms. O’Day will also be responsible for supporting the unique IT needs across the Company, integrating, leveraging and repurposing technical solutions whenever feasible.
Ms. O’Day assumes her new position on June 2, 2008.
“Susan’s experiences with technology transformation and her clear vision for innovation will be incredibly valuable as Disney strives to be a technology leader in all business aspects,” said Mr. Staggs. “Susan has proven she is capable of managing a global organization and finding operating efficiencies, and we’re pleased that she will use those skills here.”
Ms. O’Day joins Disney from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) where she spent more than 10 years in a variety of leadership capacities. Most recently, Ms. O’Day served as Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Global Shared Services where she was responsible for global information management and shared services, including a company-wide program designed to enhance and improve operational and process efficiencies as part of BMS’s strategy to build long-term leadership and growth. During her tenure at BMS, Ms. O’Day oversaw the transformation of functions, including the consolidation of multiple fragmented information technology organizations which resulted in significant cost savings. She also developed and executed BMS’s global technical approach and strategy.
Prior to that, Ms. O’Day worked at CSX Corporation, where she began her career and ultimately rose to Assistant Vice President, Telecommunications. While at CSX, Ms. O’Day led a development team delivering customized application solutions in support of railroad operations. She transitioned the team from turnkey legacy implementation methodologies to iterative processes and practices that delivered more timely solutions. Ms. O’Day holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from St. Lawrence University and a Masters of Business degree from the College of William and Mary. She is currently President of the Board of Trustees of Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield, Mass.