Director, Global Export Controls & Technical Governance

Role Overview

The Director, Global Export Controls & Technical Governance serves as the principal corporate authority over the enterprise export control framework, holding ultimate functional accountability for identifying, segmenting, and mitigating national security, dual-use technology, and geopolitical compliance risks across all business units. Operating within the IC@D Enterprise Standards, this executive leader is the principal architect designing and maintaining a resilient, scalable compliance architecture benchmarked against adjacent technology sectors to ensure corporate operations maintain strict regulatory defensibility while leveraging automation to support advanced product development, Imagineering, and project delivery worldwide.

This position exercises direct oversight over the centralized export control tower, establishing core compliance guardrails for dual-use technology, restricted party screening, international technical data transfers, and sanctions/embargos. The Director leads a team consisting of automated systems compliance, transactional execution, and advisory tracks, ensuring that sourcing and engineering teams, technology developers, and decentralized trade champions execute day-to-day workflows with absolute precision. This role serves as a mission-critical corporate partner supporting the legal transfer of products and technology across all Disney segments and geographies, protecting the brand's global integrity, and acting as the primary functional advisor to executive leadership, the Integrity and Compliance team, and Legal/Technical resources across the enterprise.  The Director, Global Export Controls & Technical Governance, reports directly to the Executive Director, Global Trade Services and Customs Operations.

Scope & Impact

The Director possesses high-visibility corporate executive presence, interfacing regularly with senior leadership across the company and across the globe. This role actively consults across a myriad of functions, business segments, and international regions to ensure known compliance gaps are mitigated, and permanent internal controls and training are put in place to avoid these issues in the future. Primary internal clients and consulting nodes include:

• Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI): Direct advisory support and risk mitigation for WDI Ride Engineering, Research & Development (R&D), and Creative Technology teams across the Burbank/Glendale and Zurich hubs to secure intangible tech transfers, access controls, and Technology Control Plans (TCP) for entities moving specialized equipment and controlled assets around the world.

• Studio & Production Technology: Early-stage integration with motion picture and theatrical production crews, streaming media engineering groups, and digital asset management centers to govern physical shipments, software creation and distribution pipelines.

• Disney Cruise Line & Parks Logistics: Upstream compliance mapping with global supply chain management to facilitate the legal, compliant, and accelerated cross-border transport of specialized engineering equipment, ride components, and marine provisions.

• Corporate Legal Services: Direct alignment and routine risk-profiling and mitigation with the Integrity and Compliance team and senior legal leadership.

• Global Footprint & Regions: Strategic cross-border oversight spanning the Americas, EMEA, and APAC theaters, establishing standard execution workflows revising procedures and screening rules to reduce compliance friction and facilitate legal trade worldwide.

Key Responsibilities

• Formulate and execute the long-term enterprise export controls strategy and mandatory governance standards, authoring the Trade Component of the Disney Code of Conduct, comprehensive Corporate Export Policies and Procedures, and core compliance protocols across all global footprints in partnership with Integrity and Compliance @Disney.

• Govern the Hub-and-Spoke Matrix Operating Model by establishing standardized operational KPIs, communication cadences, and compliance metrics for decentralized segment Trade Champions to ensure consistent adherence to export controls across all Lines of Business.

• Mandate, design, and oversee the global systemic screening of suppliers, vendors, and customers across the entire enterprise, ensuring compliance for every business partner appearing on any corporate contract or agreement.

• Provide strategic leadership and direction to the multi-functional export control tower, maintaining direct oversight of separate tracks: the Senior Manager, Automation & Systems Governance (Architecture/Environment) and the Manager, Global Export Network & Operational Compliance (Transactional/Advisory).

• Partner directly with IC@D to interpret complex export control, technology transfer, and sanctions changes, translating macro geopolitical shifts into executable enterprise standards embedded early in business planning and technology design.  Create proactive internal controls and address/close historical control gaps.

• Lead trade education initiatives across Disney by sponsoring the creation of awareness, proficiency and expert training, partnering directly with the Integrity and Compliance team to deploy training across all geographies and learning vehicles.

• Maintain enterprise-wide export control audit readiness and oversee the internal trade self-assessment schedule, partnering with IC@D and Internal Audit to conduct the reviews, address findings, resolve systemic risks, and drive long-term remediation priorities.

• Accountable for compliance automation review and approve workflows and system (screening) configurations in close partnership with the Global Trade Automation & Data Governance team.

• Serve as the senior functional escalation point and chief authority for high-risk export control match resolutions, complex technology transfer authorizations, restricted party hits, and critical cross-border compliance concerns.

Basic Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive corporate experience directing export compliance frameworks, global trade compliance, international technical transfers (tangible/intangible), or corporate regulatory auditing within a large public multinational enterprise.

• Leadership experience managing software lifecycles, technical professionals, and multi-layered compliance networks across a highly matrixed global commercial footprint.

• Comprehensive technical knowledge of U.S. and international export control regimes, including the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions, and technology transfer protocols.

Preferred Education

• BA/BS in International Business or Economics preferred.  Ideal candidate will have be a Certified Export Specialist.

The hiring range for this position in Glendale, CA is $185,000.00-$226,000.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.