The week to 11 July 2026 delivered senior appointments across entertainment, pharmaceuticals, retail, industry and finance, from a carefully orchestrated succession at the world's best-known entertainment company to a leadership reset at the UAE's largest cable manufacturer. Here are the moves that mattered this week on Executive Moves, with the full coverage one click away.
Josh D'Amaro was named chief executive of Disney, elevating the theme parks chief over entertainment contenders in a succession the board choreographed for months (our coverage).
Mike Doustdar takes the helm at Novo Nordisk as the Danish pharma giant fights to reclaim its market lead in obesity care (our coverage).
Javier Catena returns to El Corte Ingles as group chief executive, with every business unit now reporting to him ahead of the strategic plan update (our coverage).
Matteo Bavaresco becomes Group CEO of Ducab, ending a year of interim leadership at the UAE cable champion as it accelerates international expansion (our coverage).
In finance and industry: Nishant Shah was confirmed as permanent CFO of Dubai Investments after an extended acting spell; Abu Dhabi's newly merged 2PointZero named Almheiri managing director and Bouazza CEO following its $33bn combination; and Alvarez & Marsal built out a sports, media and entertainment group with three new managing directors.
Also this week: Maersk appointed Van der Steene in a senior technology leadership move; Verizon named Schulman to its top team; and CFI Financial Group appointed Alsamerrai in a senior markets role in the Gulf.
The pattern of the week is external firepower for transformation mandates: Disney, Novo Nordisk, El Corte Ingles and Ducab all reached for executives with deep operational credentials rather than caretakers, and three of the four gave the incoming chief a consolidated command structure. Boards, in short, are buying execution. The Executive Moves roundup publishes every Friday; the full archive of appointment coverage, executive profiles and company pages is updated daily.
