As Disney embarks on a 53-territory expansion of its streaming service, the company has appointed a veteran distribution executive to spearhead regional content-hunting around the world.

Kristen Finney has been named  EVP of content curation at ​​Disney’s International Content and Operations (IC&O) group, a new division that was established earlier this year to oversee the expansion of Disney+ and ensure its content meets local requirements and audience demands.

Finney will head up content strategy across EMEA, LatAm, APAC and India, with a focus on building out local programming and hiring a team to support these efforts. She starts in the new role immediately and reports to IC&O chairman Rebecca Campbell.

Prior to making this move, Finney was EVP of content distribution strategy and development at Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, where she was tasked with overseeing global content sales, strategic planning and rights management for the sales and D2C teams. And before Disney, she served as an EVP at Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, with responsibility for EMEA content licensing. Finney’s team at Fox distributed TV series and films into more than 140 territories on linear TV and SVOD platforms.

In a quarterly investors call back in May, Disney CEO Bob Chapek revealed that Disney+ has more than 500 original local programs in the works to attract new subscribers. The streamer’s global rollout has recently included South Africa, Israel and several European regions. The company is also launching an AVOD tier in the US (2022) and international markets (2023).