What Happened?
Burbank, CA-based Walt Disney Appointed Aaron LaBerge as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
About the Company
For more than nine decades, the name Walt Disney has been preeminent in the field of family entertainment. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to today`s global corporation, The Walt Disney Company continues to proudly provide quality entertainment for every member of the family, across America and around the world.
About the Person
Aaron LaBerge is senior vice president, technology & product development and the day-to-day leader of ESPN’s entire Technology division. In this role he is responsible for oversight and strategic leadership of technology across all ESPN media and businesses, including television, radio, digital and emerging media, as well as product and software development across media platforms, broadcast enhancements, data management and ESPN’s research and advanced technology activities. In early in 2014, LaBerge was named the successor to Chuck Pagano (who led ESPN’s Technology team since before the network’s launch in 1979) when Pagano announced his intention to retire. Pagano stepped away from his day-to-day duties in June, 2014 and currently serves as an advisor to LaBerge and to ESPN President John Skipper. LaBerge returned to ESPN in January 2013 as senior vice president, technology and product development after six years away as a technology entrepreneur. During his original stint at the company he was an integral leader in the growth and development of integrated technology solutions that help power, deliver and enhance ESPN’s content across all media. LaBerge also was instrumental in the growth of ESPN Digital Media, having been involved from its very early years through to its industry-leading position. He oversaw many of the site’s most ambitious and technically challenging projects and played a key role in establishing ESPN’s position as a leader in the digital media sphere and in new technology development. LaBerge, working under Pagano, was a key part of the team that drove the development and design of ESPN’s second Digital Center at its Bristol, Conn. headquarters. The 194,000-square-foot, future-proof facility is a format agnostic facility, capable of constantly adapting to the continued fast change of the technological landscape. It is capable of production of content in both 4K and 8K, can handle all existing media formats and future industry standards, handling data in multiple ways, handling signals at various rates and utilizing technology standards which haven’t even been adopted by the media industry yet. Digital Center 2 sits alongside ESPN’s original Digital Center (opened June 7, 2004), a 120,000 square foot facility outfitted as an all-encompassing digital resource – also still among the most advanced digital production facilities in the world. Additionally, under LaBerge, ESPN Technology supports the technological management and continued development of ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center – a 77,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility in downtown Los Angeles – as well as state-of the art production and media facilities in Charlotte, NC and Austin, Texas, data centers in Bristol, CT, and the technological infrastructure that connects ESPN facilities around the world, including Seattle, Sao Paolo, Rio De Janeiro, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, London, Bangalore and Sydney. He played a central role in the technology design and development to support the launch of the SEC Network, including software applications and production technology, fiber connectivity between SEC-member schools and ESPN’s Charlotte production facility, and has led the technology development that delivered exponential expansion of ESPN’s media encoding and distribution capability for live streaming of sports. Prior to his return, LaBerge served as CEO of Fanzter Inc., a venture-funded consumer software and digital product development company he co-founded in 2007. LaBerge directed the development and launch of a variety of consumer-focused Internet and mobile products. From 2003- 2007 LaBerge served as vice president, technology and business operations for ESPN.com. In this role, he led ESPN’s growth in fantasy sports games and oversaw the operations of ESPN Insider, the subscription-based premium content business. In 2005, LaBerge’s role was expanded to vice president, technology for ESPN, where he was responsible for managing all company-wide technology initiatives and product development. In this role, he oversaw ESPN’s pioneering work in online and mobile video technologies and digital streaming technology development. He first joined ESPN in 1997, through Disney’s acquisition of Starwave Ventures, the company that produced ESPN’s earliest Internet products. Before joining Starwave, LaBerge worked as a senior software engineer at Renaissance Interactive, an early Internet development and consulting firm. He specialized in Internet-based publishing and content management systems. LaBerge is a native of Charleston, S.C. and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of South Carolina. He lives in Connecticut with his wife Michele, their sons John Douglas and Grayson, and their daughter Hanna.
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