Jerrell Jimerson, Disney Streaming‘s chief product officer and one of the architects of Disney+, has been let go as part of the media conglomerate’s latest round of layoffs, PvNew has learned.
Jimerson on Wednesday sent a note to his team at Disney Streaming telling them that “after five incredible years at Disney, I will be leaving the company at the end of June.” Disney is laying off some 4,000 employees across the company this week, part of its previously announced target of cutting 7,000 jobs to reduce costs.
As chief product officer and EVP of product and design for Disney Streaming, Jimerson has overseen all aspects of product, user experience and design for Disney’s direct-to-consumer video streaming businesses, including Disney+, Hulu and Star+.
In recent months, the technology and product teams at Disney Streaming have become integrated into the broader Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology group, which is led by Aaron LaBerge, president and CTO, Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
The Mouse House had formed the New York-based Disney Streaming division from its acquisition of MLB’s BAMTech (which Disney now owns outright). The company in 2017 hired Michael Paull, a former Amazon digital video exec, as CEO of BAMTech; earlier this month, Disney announced that Paull was leaving, succeeded by former Hulu president Joe Earley, who assumed the role of president of direct-to-consumer streaming for Disney Entertainment. Former Disney Streaming CTO and BAMTech veteran Joe Inzerillo, who also was instrumental in the launch of Disney+, left to join SiriusXMas chief product and technology officer in January 2022.
Paull had hired Jimerson in 2018. Jimerson and his team played a key role in the company’s push into streaming, including the launch of Disney+ in 2019 and Star+ in Latin America in 2021. Early in his career, Jimerson was part of the team at Netscape that launched Navigator — the first modern web browser. He has also held senior leadership and product roles at Yahoo PayPal and iHeartRadio.
“When I joined the team in 2018, we were just starting to build what was then referred to as Dominguez, our codename for Disney+ — an ode to the Dominguez Palm Tree, which provided the roots (literally) for Disneyland,” Jimerson wrote in his farewell note, which was obtained by PvNew.
“I am so amazingly proud to have been a part of what we’ve created — sincerely one of the highlights of my career,” Jimerson added. “As I move on to my next adventure, I want you to know that I am leaving on a high. The product is stronger than ever, and I have no doubt that you will continue to make it even better in the years to come. I will always look back on my time at Disney with fondness and pride, and I will always be grateful for the experience and friendships.”
