Careers Executive Moves

Disney’s environmental sustainability co-lead leaves company

Yalmaz Siddiqui, a 20-year veteran of the profession, joined Disney in June 2022 after previous roles with MGM International and Office Depot, among others. Read More

By Heather Clancy October 20, 2026

Yalmaz Siddiqui (R.) interviews business strategy consultant Andrew Winston (L.) on his fall 2026 road trip. Source: Yalmaz Siddiqui

Key Takeaways:

Kelley Greenman remains at the media and entertainment company with the new title of vice president of global sustainability.
What’s next: Siddiqui is interviewing fellow sustainability professionals for a video blog series that he plans to turn into a book.
His advice to mid-career professionals: Recognize this difficult moment, but remember that the world works in cycles.

Yalmaz Siddiqui has exited his role as vice president of environmental sustainability at The Walt Disney as a result of a corporate reorganization, effective Oct. 17.

His former co-lead, Kelley Greenman, remains at the media and entertainment company with the new title of vice president of global sustainability, reporting to Brent Olson, senior vice president of global public policy.

“I was part of a recent restructuring and while it’s disappointing to leave a place as fascinating as The Walt Disney Company, my main emotion is gratitude: for my team and time there, and for the space, creativity, and adventure this new change enables,” Siddiqui said on LinkedIn.

Disney did not respond to a request for comment.

Siddiqui, a 20-year veteran of the profession, joined Disney in June 2022 after six years as vice president of corporate sustainability for hospitality company MGM Resorts International. Before that, he held various sustainability management roles at Office Depot, where he helped triple the retailer’s sales of green product alternatives to more than $3 billion.

Reflecting on his career, Siddiqui said that one of the most important lessons he learned is to advocate both the financial case for sustainability and the moral case.

“We are whiplashing between extremes,” he said. “We need to have a portfolio approach, and we need to think about both. Remember, companies are always and often investing in long-term things that don’t deliver an immediate ROI but that are in the best interest of the long-term health of the company. We don’t want to get stuck in the ROI cage.”

Siddiqui plans to spend the next few months taking a sabbatical and thinking broadly about his next phase. As of now he is traveling across America in an electric campervan interviewing fellow sustainability professionals for a video blog series. His interviews will become the foundation for a book proposal. He’s exploring the next career stage with a wide lens that will likely include academia, adventure travel or returning to sustainability after a break.

His advice to mid-career professionals struggling with the tough climate for environmental sustainability initiatives: “Our jobs are difficult, but change in any context is difficult. Remember that a lot of young people still want to go into this profession. Hunker down, recognize the moment, but reflect that the world works in cycles and this time will also pass.”