Senior Manager, Partnerships

Overview 

The Office of Technology Enablement is a strategic organization designed to establish Disney as a progressive, innovative, and responsible leader in important and fast-moving areas of technology such as artificial intelligence and mixed reality. The organization coordinates efforts in AI/ML and mixed reality across each of the Walt Disney Company’s business segments to enable value and drive business outcomes. 

In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive partnership strategy, identifying, and fostering relationships with preferred technology partners in the XR and AI domains, and aligning partnership activities with company objectives and priorities. 

Responsibilities 

Partnership Strategy & Execution 

• Develop, implement, and sustain a XR and AI strategic partnerships strategy to drive value. 

• Cultivate and strengthen relationships with preferred technology partners specializing in XR and AI solutions. 

• Serve as the main day-to-day point of contact for a variety of technology partners. 

• Evaluate and prioritize partnership opportunities based on strategic fit, financial impact, market potential, and alignment with XR and AI initiatives. 

• Collaborate with Business Development team members to prepare partnership agreements with XR and AI technology providers, ensuring mutual benefit and clear expectations. 

• Develop presentations, structure and negotiate deal terms, and provide input into business cases. 

• Develop deep technology and product expertise to identify mutual value exchange opportunities and translate into high-quality insights. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Alignment 

• Stay current on company and segment priorities and goals to anticipate new business development opportunities and/or optimize existing partnerships.. 

• Facilitate collaborative efforts to innovate on new XR and AI customer experiences. 

Performance Monitoring & Optimization 

• Track the status of all active projects (portfolio management) to provide regular updates and reports to senior leadership on activities and outcomes and identify opportunities to reduce redundancies and amplify project performance. 

• Monitor and track the performance of XR and AI partnerships, analyzing key metrics to evaluate partnership effectiveness, identify areas for improvement, and seek ways to optimize growth. 

• Stay current on XR and AI industry trends, emerging technologies, and competitive landscape to identify new partnership opportunities. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing, Engineering, or a related field; Master's degree preferred. 

• 10+ years of related work experience in strategic partnerships, business development, or technology management roles. Focus on XR and AI technologies preferred 

• Proven track record of successfully managing partnerships and driving business growth in the technology sector. 

• Strong negotiation, communication, and relationship-building skills. 

• Ability to work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders, including C-suite executives, technology partners and subject matter experts. 

• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data and make data-driven decisions. 

• Anticipate problems and creative problem-solving. 

• Entrepreneurial and exceptional collaboration and relationship-building skills.