Former COO Jeff Williams nominated to join Disney board following Apple retirement

Jeff Williams wasted no time finding his next thing after retiring from Apple. The former Apple chief operating officer has been nominated to Disney’s board.

Williams officially retired from Apple last month after handing over the COO role to Sabih Khan earlier in the year.

Now Variety reports that Disney has expanded its board to include Jeff Williams.

Jeff Williams, a former top Apple executive who retired from the tech giant earlier this year, will stand for election as a new independent director of Disney at the company’s 2026 annual meeting of shareholders.

With the addition of Williams, the total size of the board will be expanded to 11, effective as of the election of directors at the 2026 annual meeting. Disney’s annual shareholders meetings have taken place in late March or early April in past years.

Variety includes this statement from Jeff Williams, provided by Disney, in the piece:

“I have long admired Disney’s legacy of pairing imagination with innovation — leveraging new technologies in bold, creative ways to bring to life timeless stories and entertain its guests. It is an honor to be nominated to the board of this storied company. I look forward to working with Disney’s talented leadership team and contributing to the company’s ongoing journey of creativity and excellence.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger previously held a seat on Apple’s board, but vacated his seat following the introduction of Apple TV+ in 2019.

Disney was preparing to launch its own streaming video service with Disney+ at the time.

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