Disney+ expands scripted leadership for the UK and EMEA, adding Ron O’Berst and Laura Klimke

Disney+ has made two new hires to bolster its scripted slate in the United Kingdom and across EMEA, according to Deadline. The company appointed Ron O’Berst, an executive producer from the series What It Feels Like For a Girl, as Director, Scripted Originals UK. It also named Laura Klimke, described as a Wreck development executive, as Senior Development Manager, Scripted Originals UK.

Deadline reported that the appointments are part of Disney+’s broader effort to build out its scripted team for the UK and EMEA. The hires place both executives in roles focused on development and original scripted content in the region, with responsibilities tied to specific ongoing series and development pipelines referenced in their prior work.

O’Berst’s new role comes after his work as an executive producer on What It Feels Like For a Girl, a project that Deadline linked directly to his appointment. In the Director position, he is expected to oversee scripted original development activities based in the UK, working within Disney+’s wider EMEA content organization.

Klimke’s appointment is tied by Deadline to her prior work as a development executive on Wreck. In her Senior Development Manager role for Scripted Originals UK, Deadline reported that she will focus on scripted originals development, aligning her responsibilities with Disney+’s plans for UK and EMEA programming.

The Deadline report also described the timing as following a recent period of staffing growth for Disney+’s EMEA scripted organization, referencing that the appointments arrive about six months after Disney+ EMEA Head of Content had begun assembling the team. The article did not provide additional detail in the excerpt beyond that timing context.

Neither appointment was described in Deadline’s report as involving any change in distribution rights, release schedules, or production volume for specific titles. The public information in the report centers on the organizational structure and the named executives’ UK and EMEA scope.

As Disney+ continues to expand its scripted operation for the region, the company’s next steps will likely involve filling additional roles around development, production, and creative management in the UK and EMEA, while supporting the pipeline associated with the executives’ prior series experience mentioned by Deadline.