Disney Appoints Its First Female CFO

Good on Disney, which just appointed its highest-ranking woman executive ever! Christine McCarthy is the company’s new CFO after 15 years with the Mouse House. She previously served as Disney’s treasurer and executive vice president of corporate real estate and alliances.

As Bloomberg points out, even though McCarthy’s not in the top spot, her appointment is still a big deal: only 11 percent of companies in the S&P 500 Index have female CFOs. And with Disney CEO Bob Iger set to retire in 2018, it’s not inconceivable to think that McCarthy has a shot at running the whole company in a few short years.

Regardless of who succeeds Iger, McCarthy’s promotion indicates that Disney, a company worth over $80 billion, is on the right track when it comes to having a gender-diverse leadership team. At the very least, they’re no longer led by someone who thinks it’s hard to find beautiful women who are also funny. They’ve got to feel pretty good about that this week.

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Career success, Changing the Workplace, Inspirational Role Models, Leadership/OrganizationalTake The LeadJuly 7, 2015Disney, Take The Lead This WeekComment