Ben Sherwood

Former Disney president Ben Sherwood on how disruptive innovation created Disney+

As Co-Chairman of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney|ABC Television, BEN SHERWOOD was instrumental in the creation of Disney+. Sherwood led difficult executive conversations during the turbulence of streaming’s emergence, offering Disney+ as a way to address the legacy company’s market from an entirely new perspective in response to market changes. Willing to butt heads in the boardroom, Sherwood turned to the true academic theory of disruptive innovation to continue working through barrier after barrier, ultimately creating an entirely new revenue stream for Disney. Sherwood has spoken to groups including the Global Leadership Summit, the HIMSS Global Health Conference and Exhibition, Youngstown State University, and more on disruptive innovation, sharing stories from the upper echelons of media decision-making.

Watch Ben Sherwood speak at the Global Leadership Summit >>

Event Success Story: Ben Sherwood provides crucial insight to Youngstown University

New York Times bestselling author, CEO of the Daily Beast, and founder and CEO of MOJO BEN SHERWOOD was invited to speak at Youngstown University as part of the Thomas Colloquium on Free Enterprise. As a foremost business leader in media, entertainment, and culture, Sherwood provided invaluable insight to students, faculty, and community members on our fast-shifting consumer landscape, sharing stories from his time leading global organizations such as ABC and Disney as well as founding MOJO. A Youngstown University dean told us, “What a wonderful evening of conversation with Ben Sherwood. His ability to make important points of his conversation by using stories from the history of Youngstown made us (the audience) feel he was from here. We look forward to hearing about his next adventure.”

Watch Ben Sherwood speak at the Global Leadership Summit >>

Watch Ben Sherwood deliver a keynote at Mipcom >>

Ben Sherwood and the secrets of 'The Survivors Club'

A master storyteller and one of the top media executives in the world, BEN SHERWOOD helps organizations navigate the phases of surviving this Covid crisis: Pre-impact, Impact, Recoil, Rescue, and Recovery. A Former Co-Chairman of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney|ABC Television Group from 2014 to 2019, Sherwood successfully led a top media organization through a period of rapid disruption, with new streaming services and technology upending business models and consumer behavior. Sherwood is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, The Survivors Club, in which he explores the secrets and science of the world's greatest survivors. A 2020 republication of the book sheds light on surviving amid the coronavirus pandemic specifically, and how to adapt and overcome a period of tremendous trauma and adversity.

In his dynamic presentations, Sherwood draws on his experience as a top media executive as well as his Survivors Club research and interviews in order to provide riveting and uplifting stories of ordinary people in extraordinary situations; actionable takeaways to strengthen a listener's personal resilience; and lifesaving tips on how to survive and thrive after the crisis. He receives rave reviews at every engagement, such as: "Everyone loved him. They were captivated. His stories were fantastic. And the feedback I received was tremendous" (Symantec), and "Ben's message is deep, highly relevant, and of great intrinsic value. He hit the ball deep into the seats" (The Master's Forum). 

Please note that Sherwood’s proceeds from his Survivors Club speech will go to Feeding America and the International Rescue Committee to help those most afflicted by the pandemic.

Ben Sherwood provides lessons on leadership and disruption

A master storyteller and one of the top media executives in the world, BEN SHERWOOD served as Co-Chairman of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney|ABC Television Group from 2014 to 2019.  Consistently ranked in The Hollywood Reporter's annual list of the "Most Powerful People in Entertainment," Sherwood offers game-changing insights on bold leadership in times of disruption, the art of the turnaround, and the secrets to unleashing innovation and creative-thinking amid challenging times. 

At Disney/ABC, Sherwood managed a twelve billion dollar business with 12,000 employees responsible for the creation of more than 25,000 hours of original content every year. Leading the organization through a period of rapid disruption, with new streaming services and technology upending business models and consumer behavior, Sherwood and his team consistently delivered outstanding results measured in profitability, cultural relevance and creative excellence. As New York Magazine wrote of him: "Many at ABC News praise (Ben) Sherwood as perhaps the most engaged, inspiring, empathetic leader that the television industry has ever produced." 

Sharing radically candid first-hand insights on leadership, disruption, innovation and more, Sherwood receives rave reviews at every engagement, such as: "Everyone loved him. They were captivated. His stories were fantastic. And the feedback I received was tremendous" (Symantec), and "Ben's message is deep, highly relevant, and of great intrinsic value. He hit the ball deep into the seats" (The Master's Forum). Sherwood’s presentations are deeply engaging and inspiring. He mixes riveting video, with stories from the trenches of television, and memorable insights from history, politics, science and nature, to provide audiences with a highly-relevant, one-of-a-kind experience.