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Disney Entertainment’s chief technology officer, Aaron LaBerge, is leaving the company after 20 years of service. He is now preparing to move to PENN Entertainment, where he was hired for the same CTO role.
According to The Wrap, LaBerge is officially stepping down in June then in July, he will transfer to PENN Entertainment which runs the ESPN Bet online sportsbook. At Disney, his role put him in charge of driving technology and product development for Disney and ESPN’s media divisions.
Aaron LaBerge’s Extensive Work Experience
The new PENN Entertainment CTO previously worked for ESPN as technology chief and has contributed greatly to the growth of the sports network’s digital media products and services. He was also the main planner for the design, development, and engineering of ESPN’s facilities in various states, including Connecticut, Austin, Los Angeles, and Charlotte. LaBerge also designed the company’s data centers and infrastructure that link these facilities.
Before working at Disney Entertainment, LaBerge co-founded Fanzter Inc., a consumer software and digital production company. He was also the chief executive officer of this firm where he managed day-to-day operations and spearheaded the creation and launch of different internet and mobile products for the consumers.
Move to PENN Entertainment
LaBerge is set to be replaced by Chris Lawson, Disney’s current EVP of content operations, on an interim basis. This means he will serve as CTO only until the company finds a permanent replacement.
In any case, PENN Entertainment confirmed on Monday, April 22, that it has recruited LaBerge to be its new CTO. Once he starts working at the company, he will report directly to Jay Snowden, PENN’s president and CEO.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our PENN executive team,” Snowden said in a press release on the appointment of LaBerge as CTO. “Having overseen a global organization of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, and data scientists that created some of the largest scale and most successful media properties in the world there is no better candidate to lead our Technology and Interactive division into its future.”
Photo by: Penn Entertainment Press Release
