• by Wayne Friedman , June 15, 2023

Christine McCarthy, chief financial officer of Walt Disney Co., is stepping down to take a family medical leave of absence, the company said Thursday.

Longtime Disney executive Kevin Lansberry, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, will be the interim CFO, starting July 1.

McCarthy, who has been with the company for 23 years, will move into an advisory position to assist her successor, said Bob Iger, chief executive officer of Walt Disney, in a statement. McCarthy became CFO in 2015.

Disney currently has had to undergo tough marketplace conditions -- including a difficult advertising market. 

Late last year the company started up an advertising option for its highly scrutinized streaming service Disney+. Disney+ is projected to earn $750 million in advertising revenues, according to Insider Intelligence, eMarketer, and Guggenheim Securities.

Recently, Disney reported second-quarter operating losses of $659 million for its direct-to-consumer (D2C) segment -- trimmed from the $1.05 billion in losses in the first quarter of 2023. As part of an overall company-wide restructuring, Disney has planned 7,000 job cuts during several rounds of layoffs this year.

Business at Disney Parks -- of which Lansberry is a senior executive -- has been a continued bright spot for the company, rebounding strongly in the latest quarterly earnings period, rising 17% in revenues to $7.8 billion.