Disney Names Melissa Stone Senior Vice President of Publicity Amid Company-Wide Restructuring

The Walt Disney Studios has appointed Melissa Stone as its new Senior Vice President of Publicity. This promotion places her in charge of global publicity strategy across the company's theatrical and streaming businesses, including Disney Live Action, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios.

Stone will lead the studio publicity team and oversee campaigns spanning films and streaming titles across Disney's collection of major studio brands. She will report to Martha Morrison, president of Studios Marketing, and succeed Michelle Sewell, who recently retired from Disney.

With over two decades of publicity experience, Stone has worked at Fox and Disney for 14 years. Her campaign credits include 'Avatar: The Way of Water,' the live-action 'Lilo & Stitch,' 'The Little Mermaid,' 'Mufasa,' 'Barbarian,' recent installments in the 'Planet of the Apes' franchise, 'Ford v. Ferrari,' and 'West Side Story.'

Stone's appointment comes during a period of significant organizational change at Disney, with multiple rounds of layoffs affecting businesses including ESPN, National Geographic, Pixar, and Walt Disney Studios.