• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 7, 2013

Paul Pastor, who has helped manage Disney’s investment in Hulu and overseen digital and international initiatives, will add oversight of research for the ABC network and other properties to his portfolio.

He absorbs the duties held by Charles Kennedy, senior vice president of research, who is leaving the company to pursue another opportunity.   

As senior vice president of strategy and consumer analytics for Disney/ABC Television Group, Pastor will report to Peter Seymour, the executive vice president and CFO of the division. His research responsibilities include ABC Family, ABC Studios and the Disney/ABC syndication arm in addition to the broadcast network.

He will continue to oversee strategic initiatives for the Disney/ABC groups along with customer relationship marketing and network media planning.

Seymour stated that with “digital proliferation, Big Data and rapidly evolving consumer behavior, the worlds of CRM, planning, strategy and research are increasingly interwoven." He cited Pastor’s “close working relationship with our research teams and the ABC businesses” as a strong fit.

Kelly Pena, who oversees research for Disney Channels Worldwide, will continue in her role reporting to Seymour.

Pastor joined Disney in 2007 in a business development role for the Disney Channels and took his current role as vice president of strategy, CRM and media planning last fall.

Early in his career, he held positions at Accenture, a management consulting firm, and at Technicolor, where he was focused on the expansion of the firm’s gaming and animation services businesses into global markets .