Some of the best leadership is by example, and Hong is the perfect testament to that. She has been a longtime mentor in her current and past roles at Hulu and The Walt Disney Company. Her confident and measured focus positioned her as an indispensable ally to senior execs within the company and a role model for employees starting their careers. During the Disney and Hulu integration, Hong led the combined efforts of the Addressable Revenue and Yield Management teams, encompassing pricing and planning as well as revenue and forecasting analytics for ad products across the full Disney addressable portfolio. Her leadership was instrumental in Disney Advertising Sales’ achievements, including surpassing $1 billion in addressable revenue. “It’s important to build relationships based on trust to create an environment that makes people feel safe and that they can share honestly without fear of being penalized or ostracized for sharing an unpopular idea or constructive feedback,” Hong says.
Do you think there has been significant progress on DEI in the industry in the past year?
I do think the past year has created greater awareness on many of the racial and gender inequities in our society and has highlighted the need to carefully consider how DE&I are navigated in the workplace. And with increasing push to prioritize DE&I, many companies have taken steps to deepen their commitment to change and launched several initiatives to combat discrimination and cultural bias. That said, the work of promoting DE&I needs to be ongoing and I am hopeful that with the foundational framework many companies have put in place, it will show significant improvements over the next years as we are able to measure progress.
My best advice for fostering open, honest communication…
It starts with sincerity and trust. It’s important to build relationships based on trust to create an environment that makes people feel safe and feel they can share honestly without fear of being penalized or ostracized for sharing an unpopular idea or constructive feedback.
Which celebrity do you think is setting a strong example for the next generation?
LeBron James. He’s one of the biggest, best basketball players of all time and he uses his platform to speak out on political and social issues to drive awareness and change. I admire the risk he is willing to take to stand up for what he believes even though others may think differently and go against him.
