Alan Horn

Alan Horn is an American entertainment industry executive. He served as the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Studios from 2019 to 2021. Horn previously served as the chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 2012 to 2020. Horn agreed to depart from Disney effective December 31, 2021.

As Co-Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Disney Studios Content, Alan Horn led The Walt Disney Company’s renowned Studios division, which encompasses a collection of world-class entertainment studios that produce high-quality cinematic storytelling for both theatrical and streaming release. Among these globally respected studios are Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and Blue Sky Studios. It is also home to Disney Theatrical Productions, producer of popular stage shows on Broadway and around the world.

Along with Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, Horn oversaw production, marketing, operations, and technology for Disney Studios’ global output. In addition, as Chief Creative Officer, Horn drove the Studios’ creative approach.

Having led The Walt Disney Studios’ since 2012, Horn presided over a time of significant growth including the 2012 integration of Lucasfilm and the 2019 integration of the Fox film studios, as well as the Studios’ expansion into the production of content for Disney’s streaming services. Under Horn’s leadership, The Walt Disney Studios set numerous records at the box office, surpassing $7 billion globally in 2016 and 2018 and $11 billion in 2019, the only studio ever to have reached these thresholds. Recent successes include Disney’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King”; Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Frozen,” “Zootopia,” and “Frozen 2”; Pixar’s “Coco,” “Incredibles 2,” and “Toy Story 4”; Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”; and Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther,” “Captain Marvel,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame,” the latter of which is the highest grossing global release of all time.

Prior to joining Disney, Horn served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Warner Bros., leading the studio’s theatrical and home entertainment operations, including the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, Warner Bros. Theatrical Ventures, and Warner Home Video. During Horn’s tenure from 1999 to 2011, Warner Bros. was the top-performing studio at the global box office seven times and released numerous critically acclaimed films and box office hits including the eight-film Harry Potter series, “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Happy Feet,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “The Departed,” “Million Dollar Baby,” the second and third Matrix films and the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy. He was an executive producer on “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

In 1987, Horn co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, where as Chairman he oversaw a diverse collection of popular, acclaimed film and TV properties including “A Few Good Men,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “City Slickers,” “In the Line of Fire,” and “Seinfeld,” the most successful show in television history. Horn previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Embassy Communications. A passionate environmental advocate, Horn is chair of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and he serves on the American Film Institute Board of Directors and the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors. He is the recipient of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation’s 2004 Pioneer of the Year Award, Harvard Business School’s 2007 Leadership Award and 2016 Alumni Achievement Award, the Producers Guild of America’s 2008 Milestone Award, and the Geffen Playhouse’s 2014 Distinction in Service Award.

Horn earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force. In 2010, he received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from New York’s Union College, his alma mater.