# Hugh F. Johnston
> Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the walt disney company
- Profile type: Person
- Profile status: baseline
- Last updated: 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/hugh-johnston/
- Also known as: Hugh F. Johnston, Hugh Francis Johnston, Disney CFO
## Summary
Hugh F. Johnston is Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Walt Disney Company, a role he assumed December 4, 2023 after 34 years at PepsiCo, where he served as CFO from 2010 and Vice Chairman from 2015. Disney extended his contract through January 2029 in November 2025. His commentary on streaming margins, sports rights, and capital allocation is closely tracked by investors.

## Profile facts

- Current title: Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
- Current company: the walt disney company (https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/the-walt-disney-company/)


## Career trajectory

- 1987-01-01 — Joined PepsiCo at pepsico. Began 34-year tenure at PepsiCo across finance, M&A, and operations roles.
- 1999-01-01 — Vice President, Retail at merck. Left PepsiCo to serve as VP, Retail at Merck & Co.
- 2002-01-01 — Returned to PepsiCo (senior finance and operations roles) at pepsico. Rejoined PepsiCo; subsequent roles included SVP Mergers and Acquisitions, CFO of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods, SVP Transformation, President of Pepsi-Cola North America, and EVP Global Operations.
- 2010-03-01 — Chief Financial Officer at pepsico. Named CFO of PepsiCo in March 2010, assuming the role in April 2010.
- 2015-07-01 — Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer at pepsico. Added the Vice Chairman title to his CFO role in July 2015.
- 2023-12-04 — Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the-walt-disney-company. Joined Disney as CFO, succeeding interim CFO Kevin Lansberry; first major outside hire into a senior Disney executive role under Bob Iger's second term.
- 2025-11-12 — Contract extended through January 2029 at the-walt-disney-company. Disney extended Johnston's employment agreement through Jan. 31, 2029, with long-term equity incentive raised to $16.5M annually.


## Media appearances

- 2026-02-02 — interview: Disney CFO Hugh Johnston on Q1 results: 'The company has a lot of momentum right now', CNBC (https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/02/02/disney-cfo-hugh-johnston-on-q1-results-the-company-has-a-lot-of-momentum-right-now.html)

_This page uses only public-professional information (roles, public statements, media appearances, board service, and employment-agreement disclosures filed with the SEC)._

## Key facts

- Hugh F. Johnston was named Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Walt Disney Company effective December 4, 2023, joining from PepsiCo as a rare outside hire into a top Disney executive role. — The Walt Disney Company: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/press-releases/the-walt-disney-company-names-hugh-johnston-as-senior-executive-vice-president-and-chief-financial-officer/
- Johnston spent 34 years at PepsiCo, serving as Chief Financial Officer from March 2010 and as Vice Chairman from July 2015 until his retirement on November 30, 2023. — PepsiCo (PR Newswire): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pepsico-announces-new-chief-financial-officer-long-standing-cfo-to-leave-for-role-at-disney-301978522.html
- In November 2025, Disney extended Johnston's employment agreement through January 31, 2029, raising his long-term equity incentive annual award value to $16.5 million while keeping base salary at $2 million and target bonus at $4 million. — The Hollywood Reporter: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disney-cfo-hugh-johnstons-contract-extension-1236424827/
- On Disney's Q1 FY2026 earnings call (February 2, 2026), Johnston reaffirmed that the company is on track to reach a 10 percent direct-to-consumer streaming operating margin in fiscal 2026, up from roughly 5 percent the prior year. — Disney Q1 FY26 Earnings Conference Call Transcript: https://s206.q4cdn.com/979796730/files/doc_events/2026/Feb/02/q1-fy26-earnings-transcript.pdf
- Johnston serves as a member of the board and chair of the audit committee of Microsoft Corporation, and holds the same audit-chair role on the board of HCA Healthcare. — Microsoft: https://news.microsoft.com/source/exec/hugh-johnston/


## Related

- the walt disney company (Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/the-walt-disney-company/
- pepsico (Former Vice Chairman and CFO (2010–2023)) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/pepsico/


## External coverage

- The Walt Disney Company: Hugh Johnston — Leadership Bio (https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/leadership/hugh-johnston/)
- 2023-11-06 — The Walt Disney Company: The Walt Disney Company Names Hugh Johnston as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/press-releases/the-walt-disney-company-names-hugh-johnston-as-senior-executive-vice-president-and-chief-financial-officer/)
- 2026-02-02 — The Walt Disney Company Investor Relations: Disney Q1 FY26 Earnings Conference Call Transcript (https://s206.q4cdn.com/979796730/files/doc_events/2026/Feb/02/q1-fy26-earnings-transcript.pdf)
- 2025-11-12 — The Hollywood Reporter: Disney Extends CFO Hugh Johnston's Contract Into 2029 (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disney-cfo-hugh-johnstons-contract-extension-1236424827/)
- Microsoft: Microsoft Board Member — Hugh Johnston (https://news.microsoft.com/source/exec/hugh-johnston/)
- 2026-02-02 — CNBC: Disney CFO Hugh Johnston on Q1 results: 'The company has a lot of momentum right now' (https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/02/02/disney-cfo-hugh-johnston-on-q1-results-the-company-has-a-lot-of-momentum-right-now.html)

## Profile
Hugh Johnston arrived at Disney in December 2023 as Bob Iger's hand-picked CFO — the rare outside hire into a top executive role at the company, and a signal to Wall Street that the post-Christine McCarthy finance organization would be run by an operator with a deep public-company track record. His 34 years at PepsiCo, including more than a decade as CFO, made him one of the most familiar faces to consumer-sector investors.

At Disney, Johnston's mandate has been the financial reorganization of the streaming business — from a billion-dollar-a-quarter loss center into a 10 percent operating margin segment by fiscal 2026 — alongside disciplined capital allocation across the Sports, Entertainment, and Experiences segments. His commentary on earnings calls is closely parsed for read-through on sports rights renewals, ESPN's standalone trajectory, the Hulu integration, and the company's M&A posture. In November 2025 the board extended his contract through January 2029, locking in continuity through the back half of the Iger-to-D'Amaro CEO transition.
## Coverage on The State of Streaming
- [Disney Folds Streaming Data Under the Ad Platform Before the Upfront](https://thestateofstreaming.com/platforms/2026/05/disney-exec-reorg-arora-1000-layoffs-leadership/) — 2026-05-03
- [ESPN Preps Roughly 30 Layoffs After Disney Books $110M YouTube TV Hit](https://thestateofstreaming.com/platforms/2026/04/espn-layoffs-youtube-blackout-aftermath/) — 2026-04-26
- [Antenna Calls Streaming-Wars Era Over as Sub Growth Falls to 7%](https://thestateofstreaming.com/measurement-data/2026/04/streaming-wars-era-ended-2025-data-story/) — 2026-04-25

## Tags

- executive
- cfo
- disney
- entertainment
- streaming-economics

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