Jean-Francois Camilleri is leaving Disney after more than 30 years and will replaced as the head of its French operation by Helene Etzi.
Sources said Camilleri’s departure was his own decision. He announced his exit on Twitter, Tuesday, and paid tribute to his team and colleagues at Disney, thanking them for the “unique adventure.”
In the U.S., a swathe of job cuts followed in the wake of Disney closing its deal for a raft of Fox assets. In France, the Mouse has filled Camilleri’s domestic responsibilities by upping Etzi. It was not immediately clear whether she will also cover the Benelux region and French speaking Africa, as her predecessor did.
Etzi’s elevation to country manager was announced internally. Disney declined to comment beyond confirming the personnel changes.
The outgoing exec created started out in advertising. He then moved from Europe to LA for a role at Buena Vista International, going on to help set up its Paris office, for which he became the advertising manager.
He subsequently took various roles and was instrumental in the success of 2005 feature documentary “The March of the Penguins.” He went on to help establish the Disneynature wildlife film label.
Etzi has previously been in a platforms, strategy, and channels role at Disney. She has also been running Disney’s channels in France and been general manager for them across the wider EMEA region.