Jake Winebaum

Chairman

Buena Vista Internet Group

Not only has Jake Winebaum led Walt Disney Co. into the digital age, he has established the Burbank-based $22 billion entertainment giant as an Internet leader.

For starters, the chairman of Buena Vista’s Internet Group, who is just shy of 40, developed the strategic plan for Disney’s expansion onto the Internet. As founder of Disney Online, Winebaum launched Disney.com and Disney’s Daily Blast, an online service for children. In addition, he has earned the lion’s share of credit for several other Disney Internet initiatives, including ABC.com, ESPN SportsZone and ABCNEWS.

“I’m a direct marketer, and the Net is the ultimate direct marketing medium, allowing one-to-one communication with the customer in a very targeted and efficient way,” said Winebaum. “Our Internet mission is critical to Disney’s future, and therefore we must be a leader in this rapidly developing new medium.”

Entrepreneurship, he explained, has been the driving force of his success. By the age of 25, he had already become senior vice president of marketing at U.S. News and World Report.

From there, he launched two Disney publications, FamilyFun and FamilyPC. He served as president, editor and publisher of both magazines and shortly thereafter took over as president of Walt Disney Magazine Publishing, where he oversaw the Discover and Disney Adventures magazines.

“Jake combines a really useful mix of creative talents along with business strategy. He has been able to maintain a nimble culture which is flexible, aggressive, and is able to take risks and seize opportunities,” said Rebecca Buxton, a spokeswoman for Buena Vista. “He has built a tremendous credibility for himself by producing results.”

Today, Winebaum is inundated with strategic planning and new ventures. He has just completed 18 months of negotiations for the acquisition of Starwave Corp., a leading producer of Internet media, and now dedicates his time to the pending agreement between Disney and the search engine Infoseek. Disney’s plan to acquire a 43 percent stake in Infoseek has propelled Winebaum into the spotlight again. His task is to make the transition as smooth as possible.

“My role is to make sure that Disney provides rocket fuel for Infoseek’s growth in a very fast-moving, competitive market,” Winebaum said.

Andrea Nylund