ESPN EVP & CFO Christine Driessen To Retire In January

In a note sent out by ESPN President James Pitaro, the upcoming retirement of the company’s EVP and CFO, Christine Driessen was announced.

“It is a rare thing indeed for one individual to positively impact the trajectory of a company and its people, day after day, in big ways and   small, for more than 33 years. But that is exactly what Christine Driessen has accomplished for ESPN,” Pitaro said. “It is therefore with mixed emotions I am announcing that Christine, ESPN’s EVP & CFO, will retire in January 2019. While this decision was made months ago and I am thrilled for what this means for Christine and her family, I am equally sad that we will not have more time to work together.”

Driessen started at ESPN in 1985 as its Controller in 1985 and was promoted to CFO in 1994 and during her ti,me with the company, was known for her business acumen, judgment, energy and her championing of making the media and sports industries more diverse.

According to Pitaro, Driessen was instrumental in the launch of espnW and its award winning Global Sports Mentorship Program as well as the ESPN Executive Women’s Forum, a group dedicated to helping women executives succeed in business at ESPN. Driessen also served as the co-chair of ESPN’s Diversity Council as well as Disney’s inaugural Diversity Council.

Driessen has also received numerous awards throughout her career, including Multichannel News’ Wonder Woman of the Year and WICT and WISE Woman of the Year along with being listed in the top 5 in Forbes’ most powerful women in sports list and among “The 100 Most Powerful People in Sports”.

Driessen will step away from day-to-day duties on July 1 and move into an advisory role until January.

‘I want to thank Christine for her extraordinary contributions and look forward to celebrating her incredible career over the coming months,” Pitaro says.