Mr. Pitaro most recently served as Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content, focusing on ESPN’s live sports programming, as well as sports news and original and non-scripted sports-related content, for The Walt Disney Company’s cable channels, ESPN+, and ABC.

Prior to that, Mr. Pitaro was named ESPN President and Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks, on March 5, 2018, after serving as Chairman of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (DCPI). At that time, he brought his history of leading businesses focused on consumer products, digital initiatives and sports to ESPN at a pivotal point in the company’s 38-year history: a time of unprecedented technological advancements and rapidly changing consumer habits.

Since February 2016, Mr. Pitaro had served as Chairman of Disney’s consumer products and interactive media division, the world’s largest licenser of consumer products. Among his many responsibilities, he oversaw the creation of branded digital and physical products, including a robust digital game slate. He and his team brought to life the characters and stories of four iconic brands – Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel – across toys, apparel, home goods, the world’s largest children’s publisher, hundreds of Disney store locations worldwide, the e-commerce destination shopDisney, and the Disney Digital Network of social and digital channels that reach one out of every three U.S. social media accounts.

Mr. Pitaro originally joined The Walt Disney Company in 2010 as Co-President, Disney Interactive, where he successfully led the turnaround of the digital media and gaming division.

Mr. Pitaro came to Disney from Yahoo, where he rose to Head of Media. He was in charge of, and set strategy and executed growth driving initiatives for, Yahoo’s media properties, including Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Music. In 2009, he was named to Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” annual list of top achievers in sports for his dynamic leadership and “breathless flurry of market-moving pacts” with major sports rightsholders and media companies. In 2020, he was named Sports Business Journal’s Sports Executive of the Year.

Mr. Pitaro earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics in 1991 from Cornell University. He earned his Juris Doctor from St. John’s Law School in 1994. After practicing law in New York for five years, he was named head of business affairs for Launch.com in 1999 before joining Yahoo.

A native of Westchester County, N.Y., Mr. Pitaro is ESPN’s eighth leader.

 

“More than anything else, we wanted something positive and good to come from the tragedy, to help give some semblance of meaning to the loss of so many innocent people in such a terrible way,” David explains. “We didn’t want the legacy of 9/11 to forever be defined by the evil expressed on that day, but rather by the remarkable spirit of togetherness and compassion that arose in response to the attacks.”

In 2002, David and Jay set out to transform 9/11 into a “day of doing good,” where Americans would join in unity each 9/11, take a moment to reflect on what’s most important in life, and then pledge to do a “good deed” in tribute to those killed and injured on 9/11, along with the many brave rescue and recovery workers, and members of our military who rose in service in response to the attacks.

In 2009, as a result of their efforts, President Barack Obama joined with the U.S. Congress on a bipartisan basis to formally designate September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance under federal law. Today, this observance, known widely as “9/11 Day,” has become the largest day of service in the United States, with more than 30 million people participating annually.

“When 9/11 happened, for a brief moment, we weren’t Red States of Blue States. We were the United States,” David says, “People did everything they could to help one another, not only the victims of the attacks, but people they didn’t know, perfect strangers who might have been stranded, or needed a helping hand. We wanted to keep that spirit of togetherness and service alive as a permanent reminder of how important we ultimate are to each other, regardless of our differences from time to time.

As CEO and co-founder of 9/11 Day, David creates and oversees many of 9/11 Day’s programs, including its nationwide 9/11 Day Meal Pack volunteer service projects, now held in ten U.S. cities, which mobilize more than 15,000 volunteers who together pack millions of non-perishable meals for people in need. David also guides national fundraising, works closely with hundreds of companies and other organizations, and coordinates federal activities in support of 9/11 Day, working with the U.S. Congress, White House and AmeriCorps, a federal agency that oversees many important national service programs.

Prior to creating 9/11 Day, David founded and lead the national public relations firm, PainePR, an award-winning agency known both for its outstanding creative work, as well as its pioneering use of innovative humanistic philosophies in the workplace. During David’s tenure, the firm was named “Best Managed,” “Best Place to Work,” and “Most Creative” among national agencies, and also won more than 200 awards for its work. David lives with his wife Laney and their four children, Matthew, Eric, Alyssa, and Ryan, in California.

 

Inspired by his brother’s devotion to community service and courageous actions, Jay joined David Paine in 2002 as co-founder in helping to build the 9/11 Day Observance initiative. He has become a passionate advocate for volunteering and national service.

Jay is a frequent public speaker and a leading national voice about volunteerism, charitable service, terrorism, individual empowerment and his own experience as the brother of a murdered 9/11 first responder. His work, commentary and personal story have been featured in major news media reports, documentaries and books throughout the nation and world. Jay was a featured speaker at the nationally televised ServiceNation “Presidential Candidates Forum” at Columbia University, representing the 9/11 family community and delivering his remarks just prior to those of candidates U.S. Senators Barack Obama and John McCain.

Since co-founding MyGoodDeed, Jay has spoken about charitable service and volunteerism before dozens of audiences – including at national conferences, corporate and annual meetings, press conferences with national legislative leaders, charitable events, on Capitol Hill, at colleges and high schools and more. Opinion pieces and articles Jay has written about these themes have been published by numerous media outlets and organizations, including CNN.com, Yahoo News, the National Constitution Center, Gannett Newspapers, McClatchy, Maria Shriver.com, the HandsOn Network, The Record and the United States Department of State, which invited Jay to write a piece for its publication, “Resilience After Terrorism,” which was distributed to all U.S. embassies around the world in 2011.

In June 2011, Jay received from President George H.W. Bush and the Points of Light Institute the “Daily Point of Light Award” for “creating meaningful change in communities across America” and “helping to shape a better tomorrow for our nation.” In September 2008, Jay and David received the “President’s Call to Service Award” from The White House, one of the nation’s highest civilian service honors. In December 2011, Jay received the “Most Inspiring Person of the Year” Award” from Beliefnet, the largest online resource for inspiration and spirituality. In September 2011, he and David were awarded the “Teammates in the Community Award” by the New York Mets and the Citi Foundation for their work promoting service and volunteerism.

In recognition of his work in the national service sector, and as a tribute to his late brother Glenn, Jay was invited by U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to be her guest at President George W. Bush’s final “State of the Union” address on January 28, 2008. Upon the killing of terrorist Osama Bin Laden by the U.S. military in May 2011, Jay was invited by the White House to be among a select group of 9/11 family members to meet privately with President Barack Obama.

In association with his late brother’s law firm, Holland & Knight, Jay directs the Glenn J. Winuk Humanitarian Fund, which provides scholarships to college students demonstrating a record of community service and makes other charitable grants.

In addition to his leadership role for MyGoodDeed, Jay serves as president of Winuk Communications, Inc., the public relations agency he founded in 1994. He has won numerous national public relations awards, including Silver and Bronze Anvils from the Public Relations Society of America, the industry’s highest honors, and has provided PR support to many of the nation’s leading corporations, nonprofits and other organizations. Previously, Jay was an executive at Burson-Marsteller and Golin/Harris, two of the nation’s top 10 PR firms, and served as director of public relations for Radio City Productions, the nation’s leading live entertainment company. He also was a partner and managing director of Dirty Water Integrated, a branding/advertising/PR agency. Over the years, Jay’s clients have included the NFL Alumni Association, The Coca-Cola Company, General Foods, the city of Berlin, Pfizer, Kreindler & Kreindler, a Journey for 9/11, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, Citibank, Clear Channel Entertainment, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Robert K. Futterman & Associates and many others. Jay began his career in the nonprofit sector, serving as the director of public relations for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston. He earned a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University and a B.A. degree in communications from the State University of New York at Oneonta.

 

Mike is also the author of multiple New York Times best sellers, including this year’s GOT YOUR NUMBER. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and a member of the Medill Hall of Achievement. Mike and his wife, Stacy, have two children and reside in New York City.

 

Best known for playing the iconic green girl Elphaba in Wicked (Broadway, L.A.) Other Broadway credits include BKLYN, All Shook Up, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, On a Clear Day with Harry Connick Jr. and Newsies. TV/Film: “The Americans” (Chrissy Tanner), Freehold (Cat) opposite Julianne Moore. She was a soloist for NBC’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting and continues to sing with orchestras around the world. Debut album Love Travels on iTunes and Spotify.