Shannon Ryan Named President Of Marketing, ABC Entertainment And Disney Television Studios

Marketing and communications professional Shannon Ryan has been named president of Marketing for ABC Entertainment and Disney Television Studios, it was announced today by Karey Burke, president of ABC Entertainment, and Craig Hunegs, president of Disney Television Studios, to whom she will report.

In this new role, Ryan will oversee all marketing, publicity and communications strategies for The ABC Television Network, including media, creative, social, digital, publicity and talent relations. She will also oversee the communications and marketing teams of Disney Television Studios, which include ABC Studios, FOX 21 Television Studios and 20th Century FOX Television, managing the marketing, publicity, corporate communications, events, talent relations and awards strategies of the three companies. Ryan joins The Walt Disney Company after recently serving as the chief marketing officer of the FOX Television Group, a post she'd held since 2015.

"I can't wait for Shannon to get here!" said Karey Burke, president of ABC Entertainment. "I've admired her innovative campaigns and fierce competitive spirit from afar for years, and I know ABC will be better in every way with her guiding our talented marketing and publicity teams. We are lucky indeed."

Added Craig Hunegs, president of Disney Television Studios, "Shannon's one of the best strategists in the business, and we've already reaped the benefits of her marketing and publicity expertise at 20th and FOX 21. We're excited that she'll add ABC Studios to her portfolio as we build the Disney Television Studios brand into a world-class content creation engine."

"Joining Disney, a company I've always admired and one of the most powerful brands in the world, is the opportunity of a lifetime," commented Ryan. "I'm beyond excited to begin this next chapter and look forward to collaborating with Craig and Karey and their incredibly talented teams to shine a light on the fantastic work being done at these creative companies."

As chief marketing officer for the FOX Television Group, Ryan oversaw all creative, media, social, digital and affiliate marketing, as well as strategy, brand partnerships, publicity, corporate communications, creative services and talent relations. During her tenure, the FOX network rose from fourth place to second place, and multiplatform viewership grew by +19%. Most recently, Ryan and her team launched the No. 1 broadcast entertainment show and the No. 1 new show of the season, "The Masked Singer"; as well as hit dramas "9-1-1," "The Resident," "The Passage" and "The Orville"; and successfully relaunched "Last Man Standing" on FOX.

On the studio side, Ryan has helped mastermind 20th Century FOX Television and FOX 21 Television Studios' awards dominance, with recent Emmy® and Golden Globe® wins for "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: AMERICAN CRIME Story"; Screen Actors Guild, Humanitas Prize and Emmy wins for "This Is Us"; and Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics Choice wins for "The Americans." During Ryan's tenure (since November 2015), the studio has scored 234 Emmy nominations and 44 wins, 35 Golden Globe nods and 8 wins, and six AFI awards among numerous other honors.

Prior to her promotion to chief marketing officer, Ryan was executive vice president, Marketing & Communications, for FTG, responsible for overseeing the company's earned media strategy - including publicity, corporate communications, talent relations, creative services, special events, experiential marketing and content teams. From 2011 to 2015, she was executive vice president of Marketing & Communications for FOX. Throughout her career at the network, she has overseen campaigns for such noteworthy programs as "Empire," "Glee," "The Simpsons," "Family Guy," "Bob's Burgers," "Grease: Live," "The X-Files," "The Last Man on Earth," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "New Girl," "American Idol," "House," "Arrested Development," "Masterchef" and "24."

In 2016, the national advocacy organization Girls Inc. honored Ryan for her leadership role and commitment to mentorship and inspiring the next generation of female leaders. She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University.

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