Disney announced today that Latondra Newton will join The Walt Disney Company as senior vice president and chief diversity officer, and will partner with all of the Company’s segments and leaders to build on Disney’s commitment to a welcoming and inclusive workplace. It is unknown the impact to Paul Richardson, who is the current Chief Diversity Officer and is based out of ESPN
“Diversity and inclusion are critical to who we are as a company,” Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Jayne Parker said this morning. “When we have a multitude of voices, ideas and sensibilities, we produce more engaging, more memorable, and more relatable experiences for all of the audiences we serve.”
Newton comes to Disney after 25 years at Toyota, where she was most recently group vice president, Social Innovation, and chief diversity officer of Toyota Motor North America, and project general manager of the corporate citizen division of Toyota Motor Corporation. Newton oversaw Toyota’s diversity and inclusion, as well as shared impact and environment sustainability functions, and she led the Toyota Mobility Foundation, which was established in 2014 to advance the freedom of mobility for more people everywhere.
Automotive News named Newton a Rising Star Under 35 in 2000, and as one of the 100 Leading Women in the North American Automotive Industry in 2010. As a member of the Board of Directors for the Manufacturing Institute, she is an advocate for women’s careers in the manufacturing industry.
The Walt Disney Company’s diversity and inclusion efforts have been recognized in recent months by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which has designated Disney as a Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality for 11 consecutive years; by the California Bar Foundation, which awarded Disney’s Legal department with the “2016 Leading the Change Diversity Award—Corporate Counsel”; and by Asian Americans Advancing Justice, which honored Disney with its Bridge Builder Award, recognizing the Company’s “exceptional efforts to encourage community empowerment and diversity.”