Kevin Mayer is Founder and Co-CEO of Candle Media, a next-generation media company and home to category-defining brands including Hello Sunshine, Moonbug Entertainment, Faraway Road Productions, Exile Content Studios, ATTN:, and Westbrook Media. Mr. Mayer is also Co-Founder and Managing Director of Smash Capital, a later-stage investment firm focused on private, high-growth consumer internet, software, and technology companies with the potential to create lasting brands.

 

Mr. Mayer is a former long-serving top executive at The Walt Disney Company, where he oversaw its Direct-to-Consumer businesses which included streaming platforms Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu. Mr. Mayer architected the development and successful rollout of Disney+ that today has over 150 million subscribers globally. Prior to that role, Mr. Mayer served as Chief Strategy Officer for Disney, where he was responsible for positioning Disney for the impact of advancing technology and evolving consumer behaviour. This work led to the most strategic transactions in media history, as Mr. Mayer oversaw and executed the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, BAMTech, and 21st Century Fox. After Disney, Mr. Mayer served as CEO of TikTok and COO of its parent company, ByteDance, driving one of the greatest disruptions in social media history.