Alisa Bowen, president of The Walt Disney Co.’s premium streaming service Disney Plus, is known as someone who gets difficult jobs done.
“She’s been here from the beginning, from before launch [in 2019], and she’s one of the people early on that I connected with,” said Joe Earley, president, direct-to-consumer at Disney Entertainment. “She understands every aspect of the streaming business, from pricing through technology.
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“While other people would be worried about politicking, she wanted to get stuff done,” Earley said. “We formed an early connection and recognized that while other people were distracted, we could move this forward. It’s still a great partnership today.”
Bowen embraces her get-it-done mojo. “I like to describe myself as the co-pilot, not the pilot,” she said. “My strength really comes to bear when I’m supporting a team of people on the creative side.”
She said she’s not jealous of Disney’s creative people. “I am constantly in awe of them. I find it inspiring and I love making sure everything is in place for them to be successful.”
Meeting the Ad Challenge
Launching the ad-supported version of Disney Plus is one of Bowen’s recent achievements. “It’s now live in dozens of markets around the world, and each one of those markets has very unique regulatory environments that govern the way that we can collect data, the way we can use data and the way we can manage ad preferences from consumers,” Bowen said. “Advertising wasn’t part of the original concept of Disney Plus, so adding that in was pretty complicated. Navigating all of those local requirements added an extra layer of complexity.”
Because Disney already had ad technology from Hulu, “on day one, our capabilities were far more robust than several of our competitors who were also launching ad tiers on their streaming services at about the same time.”
When Bowen joined Disney seven years ago, she was part of an initiative to understand how and when the company would begin the transition from linear to internet protocol-delivered video.
“I think that was the first time we began to imagine what streaming could be,” she recalled. “We were so motivated to figure out the right time and strategy for charting that transition because we were observing how consumers were spending their time and how much time was now untethered from the set-top box in the living room, particularly in key markets.”
While other people would be worried about politicking, she wanted to get stuff done.”
Joe Earley, Disney Entertainment
Bowen came by her streaming expertise over several stops. Born in Australia, she originally wanted to be a journalist and studied media. She started out in public relations and shifted to the business side, helping Thomson Reuters, Dow Jones and News Corp. transition from print to digital.
At The Wall Street Journal, she led the effort to offer advanced targeting capabilities for ad sales. At News Corp., her experience in managing subscriptions and setting up paywalls came to the fore.
Having spent time at News Corp. was a plus when Disney acquired assets from 21st Century Fox, another company controlled by Rupert Murdoch. “In both organizations, there’s a real premium placed on being able to collaborate across the organizational structure,” she said.
Lauren Tempest, general manager of Hulu, remembers her initial impression of Bowen was, “Wow, this woman knows her business inside and out.”
Now, she said: “Alisa just wants to get the job done. There is very little ego involved — her only requirement is that the idea or decision is the best one for the business. It does not matter where the idea came from or whose agenda it’s ultimately driving.”
Support at Home
Bowen has two teenage daughters, a benefit when working on a product like Disney Plus. Her older daughter, Emilia, is into anime and is an aspiring animator. “I love getting her input on new projects that we’re thinking about or exploring,” Bowen said.
Emilia is a big fan of Marvel’s X-Men 97, the animated series. “Its retro style is something that’s really appealed to her generation,” Bowen said.
Her younger daughter lets her know what’s happening on social media and TikTok. “She’s the one who keeps me in touch with what the kids are talking about,” she said.
One of her daughters was born in London, the other in New York. “They were quite accomplished little world travelers until COVID hit,” Bowen said. A trip to Italy is planned this summer. “It’s the first time we’ve been out of the country together as a family since COVID, so we’re really looking forward to that.”
