Overview
- Lerner died Dec. 18 in Buenos Aires after a long illness, as confirmed by Disney, with CEO Bob Iger offering condolences.
- In November he moved to an honorary president role for Disney Latin America, with Martin Iraola taking operational leadership and reporting to Dana Walden, Alan Bergman and Jimmy Pitaro.
- Across nearly 35 years at Disney, he built the company’s Latin American TV and pay‑TV operations, launched Disney Channel, Jetix and Playhouse Disney regionally, and later led the EMEA division.
- He championed locally produced programming for Disney+, announcing more than 70 original projects across Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia in 2020.
- He helped secure half of Argentina’s Primera Division broadcast rights, contributing to Disney’s estimated 64% share of national TV sports rights through Fox and ESPN, with matches to be shared with TNT through 2030.