Disney-ABC Adds Three Execs to Digital Media

The good people at Disney sent over this press release, touting their poaching of Karin Timpone and Lauren DeVillier (pictured here) from Yahoo! and Beth Johnson from BRAVO to come work here in L.A. Congratulations, ladies! Dedicated to expanding its network and channel brands across multiple platforms and connecting viewers with their favorite shows anytime and anywhere, the Disney-ABC Television Group has added three new executives to its digital media senior management team, it was announced today by Albert Cheng, executive vice president, digital media, Disney-ABC Television Group. Karin Timpone joins as senior vice president, product strategy and marketing for the digital media team; Lauren DeVillier joins as vice president, digital media, Disney Channel; and Beth Johnson has joined as vice president, digital media, ABC Daytime & SOAPnet. All three executives report to Mr. Cheng. "I am very pleased to add these talented individuals to our digital media management team," said Mr. Cheng. "The leadership, knowledge and distinguished track record of successes that Karin, Lauren and Beth bring, combined with that of our existing top-notch management team, will help us continue to lead the industry by extending Disney-ABC Television Group's quality brands and sought-after content into new platforms and new markets." As senior vice president, product strategy and marketing, digital media, Karin Timpone is responsible for leading the creative marketing vision, strategy and initiatives for product strategy for Disney-ABC Television Group's digital media team in partnership with digital product and platform leads and marketing heads across the television portfolio, working together to build brands and create new marketing models for the digital media future for the company's content platforms such as video-on-demand, broadband, web-based and mobile platforms, as well as interactive television technologies. Prior to joining Disney-ABC Television Group in August 2008, Ms. Timpone held senior leadership positions at Yahoo!, first as head of marketing for the media division, and then in corporate as head of consumer/customer innovation. While chief marketer for Yahoo! Media Group, she led all marketing for the portal's extensive content operations, including entertainment (movies, television, games, music), news, finance, sports, lifestyles and health verticals, many in No. 1 positions in their category. Her role spanned online and product marketing, promotions, partnerships and creative services. Ms. Timpone championed programming from the media division on the valuable front page, as well as cross-promotion across the company. She also developed new initiatives to support original productions as well as created a framework for external partnerships on the Yahoo! network. In her Innovation role, she conducted extensive research focusing on key audience segments, bridging editorial and sales, and then built applications and features to drive relevance and engagement. Before joining Yahoo!, Ms. Timpone ran a media consultancy with clients in the US and Europe. She was previously senior vice president, marketing, communications and research for a film and television unit at Universal Studios that launched international cable television channels and local production as well as the global television licensing arm for distribution of 40,000+ TV episodes and 4,000+ feature films to the world's television and new media outlets. Ms. Timpone holds a BA from Bryn Mawr College and a Masterâ€™s degree in Media Ecology from New York University. A dual citizen of the US and Ireland, she resides with her husband in Los Angeles. As vice president, digital media, Disney Channel, Lauren DeVillier is responsible for overseeing the digital team that manages DisneyChannel.com, PlayhouseDisney.com, RadioDisney.com as well as kids-based mobile efforts. She will also partner with Disney Online on digital initiatives related to the recently announced Disney XD brand, which debuts early next year. Ms. DeVillier has over 15 years experience working in the online and emerging technology industry. Most recently, she oversaw the Yahoo! Kids business with responsibility for all aspects of the division, including strategy, content, research and business management. Prior to her role with Yahoo! Kids, she launched Yahoo! Green, a corporate initiative focused on an innovative site providing news and information on global warming and related environmental issues and drove strategic product initiatives for the Yahoo! Food and Yahoo! Health businesses. Ms. DeVillier has also held management positions at Microsoft including the MSN Kids channel, one of the first online networks aimed exclusively at childrenâ€™s programming, and Corbis. At MSN, she helped pioneer creative online programming through partnerships with a variety of leading media companies. A graduate of Emerson College, Ms. DeVillier resides in Santa Monica with her husband and young daughter. As Vice President, ABC Daytime & SOAPnet Digital Media for the Disney-ABC Television Group, Beth Johnson is responsible for the oversight of ABC Daytime & SOAPnet digital media initiatives, including the recent relaunch of the all new SOAPnet.com, which now covers daytime and primetime soaps, expanding to include news and recaps related to over 30 shows across seven TV networks. She also oversees all digital initiatives related to ABC's Daytime programming -- The View, All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital. Prior to joining the Disney-ABC Television Group, Ms. Johnson worked at BRAVO where she served as Editorial Director, Digital Media. During her two years there, she was responsible for the development and implementation of digital initiatives for all shows across the BRAVO television network with supporting online original content, in addition to developing non-show related originals. Previous to working at BRAVO, Ms. Johnson was an editor and served as a part of the launch team for InStyle magazine's InStyle.com, where she oversaw fashion and beauty coverage. At InStyle.com she also coordinated the launch of the InStyleWeddings.com website. Ms. Johnson earned a BA degree in political science from the University of Chicago. She recently relocated to Los Angeles from New York with her husband and two young daughters.

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Disney-ABC Adds Three Execs to Digital Media

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