Walt Disney Exec Agnes Chu to Succeed Oren Katzeff as President of CNE
Condé Nast is replacing Oren Katzeff as president of its entertainment division — but he’s not leaving the company.
Stepping into the role of president of Condé Nast Entertainment is veteran Walt Disney executive Agnes Chu. She’ll join the company in September and report to chief executive officer Roger Lynch.
The move comes just weeks after a number of Katzeff’s offensive tweets from 2014 were unearthed, including ones that are sexually suggestive. “There either is a cat on my flight, meowing repeatedly a few rows behind me, or a REALLY horny woman,” he wrote in a now deleted 2014 tweet. He also made comments about a Mexican waiter.
Katzeff, who has been at the company since 2018, was not mentioned at all in Condé’s release naming Chu as the new president — an unusual p.r. move. He’s said to be transitioning into a new role, but what exactly that is has yet to be revealed.
Chu is widely viewed as having had much success at Disney and her upcoming departure is understood to be a blow to the company. She’s currently senior vice president of content for Disney Plus, commissioning a portfolio of premium feature, scripted, unscripted and animated entertainment exclusively for the service. The streaming service just got nominated for 19 Emmys.
She joined Disney in 2008 and has held a variety of roles for the company, including at Walt Disney Imagineering. Chu was also vice president in the office of Bob Iger between 2013 and 2016. She started at Disney-ABC Television Group in digital short form development and production, rising to current and daytime programming at ABC Entertainment. Earlier in her career, Chu worked in documentary production.
“Agnes is a rare creative executive that can harness both vision and operational expertise to produce culture-defining content and audience experiences,” said Lynch of his new appointment, referring to her work at Disney Plus.
Chu added that she’s always been inspired by Condé’s brands. “I’m excited to work with Roger, the editors, and the great teams to continue building on the company’s incredible legacy, and expanding its remarkable content across all platforms.”
In her new role, she’ll be in charge of the 4,000 videos that CNE produces for all the company’s brands, which include Vogue, GQ, Glamour and Allure. During Condé’s recent NewFronts pitch to advertisers, at which Katzeff was noticeably absent, Pam Drucker Mann, global chief revenue officer, unveiled 150 pilots and 57 returning series for 2021. That includes an exclusive partnership with the National Basketball Players Association to produce content with GQ Sports.
Other new programming includes Architectural Digest’s IGTV show “AD Visits,” where editor in chief Amy Astley goes inside some celebrity homes; GQ’s weekly style talk show, “The Run-Through,” hosted by editors Nikki Ogunnaike, Mobolaji Dawodu and Jon Tietz, and Vogue’s weekly series “Vegan Cooking With Tabitha Brown.”
For more, see:
Condé Nast Pledges to Improve Diversity During NewFronts Pitch
Matt Duckor Resigns From Condé Nast
Bon Appétit’s Top Editor Resigns After Brown Face Photograph
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