Ricky Strauss

Former President, Content & Marketing at Disney+

Speaker

Most recently Strauss served as Head of Global Marketing for Apple TV+ where he was responsible for all marketing strategy across television series and feature films for Apple. This included both scripted and unscripted content as well as brand campaigns for the service. Some of the acclaimed titles released during Strauss’ tenure include movies such as KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and NAPOLEON and the acclaimed episodic series HIJACK, SILO, MONARCH, MASTERS OF THE AIR, PLATONIC and THE MORNING SHOW.

Before his stint at Apple, Strauss served as President of Programming for Hulu and Disney + where he was responsible for all programmatic strategy for both platforms. Prior to that assignment, he was the President of Content & Marketing for Disney +. As Disney’s first president of Content & Marketing for Disney +, Ricky led the strategic content vision for the service, overseeing development of the service’s original programming slate, production partnerships and content acquisitions.

Working in collaboration with external production entities as well as content groups across The Walt Disney Company (including The Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Television, Disney Digital Media, Pixar Animation, Marvel Entertainment, and Lucasfilm), Strauss had creative oversight and execution of the service’s portfolio of high-quality feature films, episodic series and short-form content. Additionally, Strauss was responsible for all facets of content marketing for the service.

Strauss previously served as president of marketing for The Walt Disney Studios, overseeing the Studios' global marketing strategy encompassing creative, media, digital, promotions, publicity, research and synergy across all distribution channels for motion pictures released under the Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm banners.

Blockbuster films that Disney delivered under Strauss' tenure include “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” for which Strauss was named Marketer of the Year by Advertising Age; “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”; Marvel's “The Avengers,” “Captain America: Civil War,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy”; Disney's “The Jungle Book,” “Cinderella,” “Maleficent,” and “Beauty and the Beast”; Walt Disney Animation Studios' “Frozen,” “Zootopia,” and “Moana”; and Disney•Pixar's “Incredibles 2,” “Finding Dory” and “Inside Out.”

A 36-year entertainment industry veteran, Strauss joined Disney in January 2012 after seven years as president of Participant Media, where he oversaw the company’s marketing, production, and acquisition for a broad range of socially relevant and commercially viable films, television programming and publishing efforts. Among the acclaimed films that Participant produced under Strauss’ tenure are the 2011 Academy Award®-winning blockbuster “The Help,” “Contagion,” “Good Night and Good Luck,” “Syriana,” “The Kite Runner,” “The Visitor,” the Academy Award®-winning documentaries “An Inconvenient Truth,” “The Cove,” “Waiting for “Superman,” and “PAGE ONE: Inside the New York Times.”

Prior to joining Participant, Strauss founded Sony-based Ricochet Entertainment, where he executive-produced the Cameron Diaz film “The Sweetest Thing,” among other projects. He previously spent 16 years at Sony, where he served as a senior marketing executive (Columbia/TriStar Pictures) and later as senior vice president of production.

Strauss attended the University of Vermont, graduating Phi Beta Kappa (cum laude) with a Bachelor of Arts in English and theater.