Walt Disney Company executive Tim McNeal and his creative talent development and inclusion team will now be housed within Disney Television Studios.
McNeal will now report directly to Disney TV Studios president Craig Hunegs. McNeal and his team will work to increase representation for marginalized communities across the studios’ executive, talent, and production ranks. Though they will be housed within Disney Television Studios moving forward, the group will continue to service platforms such as ABC and Freeform as well as many others including ABC News, the owned television stations, FX, National Geographic, and Hulu.
“Craig and I go way back, working together when I was a drama development exec at The WB, so the chance to work together again was very appealing. More importantly though, he recognized the value the CTDI team has brought to the company,” McNeal said. “When he asked if we wanted to amplify our efforts to attract and retain diverse talent, all from squarely within one of the most powerful creative engines of the Walt Disney Company, there was no other answer but ‘yes.’”
McNeal’s team consists of DMA Anderson, Victor Bui, Kristi Shuton, Liz Kelly, Brian Pacheco, Vincente Fuentes, and Adrienne Thomas. Their efforts have included hiring events and community relationship building, while also tracking Disney’s progress toward more inclusive hiring. They have placed creative talent on multiple Disney-produced shows, including “Modern Family” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“Our most resonant series have always been those that reflect the broadest possible audience, and creating a more vibrant culture at our studios makes for a more attractive home for talent and executives of all backgrounds,” said Hunegs. “Embedding Tim and his team within the content engine of Disney Television Studios is going to be incredibly meaningful. Tim’s a gifted creative executive who has led an effort at the Walt Disney Company that has increased representation across every business unit, and while he’ll continue to be a resource to all areas of the company, I’m thrilled he agreed to move his operations to DTS and grateful to Sonia Coleman for enthusiastically endorsing this strategic move.”
A veteran of television programming development, McNeal transitioned into talent development when he joined Walt Disney Television as vice president of talent development and diversity in 2006. With the 2013 restructuring of the team, he was promoted to head of creative talent development and inclusion.
McNeal oversees hiring referrals and events, professional development offerings and talent programs, including the Walt Disney Television Writing Program, Walt Disney Television Directing Program, and National Latino Media Council (NLMC)/National Hispanic Media Coalition’s (NHMC) Latino Television Writers Program, among others.
He is also responsible for further expanding the scope of these programs across WDT to include Freeform and Disney Channel. Additionally, McNeal serves as a primary liaison between Walt Disney Television and diversity-related coalitions, nonprofit arts institutions and entertainment industry guilds.
Prior to Disney, McNeal was part of the programming team that launched The WB Television Network in 1995. There he developed series such as “Dawson’s Creek,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “7th Heaven,” and “Felicity.” Prior to making the move into development at The WB, McNeal was a literary agent at InterTalent and ICM Agencies.
(Pictured: Tim McNeal)