Strava has announced the board appointment of Jerrell Jimerson, Executive Vice President at Disney Streaming.
(Disney Streaming encompasses the teams leading the Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, and Star+ streaming services within Disney’s Media & Entertainment Distribution group.)
Jimerson adds significant operational experience to Strava’s board of directors, having led the vision, strategy, and execution for the product management organization behind the launch of Disney+ in 2019, and most recently, the launch of Star+ in Latin America.
This appointment comes at a high-momentum moment for Strava, ‘the leading subscription service for athletes’, and its rapidly-growing community of over 90 million athletes which, according to the company, continues to grow by 2 million athletes per month.
Founded in 2009 by Michael Horvath and Mark Gainey, the company has hired over 100 new employees in the year to date and is ensuring its board is structured with highly skilled and strategic business leaders. The Board aims to increase the value of its service to athletes while accelerating the growth of Strava’s global community.
Strava has released over 80 new features and updates to its free and subscription offerings so far this year, including: safety features, routing and mapping innovations, group challenges, improved privacy controls and partner integrations.
“Jerrell is a proven and enthusiastic leader and operator with a record of scaling valuable subscription services for global audiences,” said Michael Horvath, Strava CEO.
“His experience growing businesses through world-class customer acquisition, engagement and retention will help Strava continue to expand and accelerate the ways we delight athletes and achieve our mission.”
‘That mission is connecting athletes to what motivates them and helping them find their personal best, no matter where they live or what sports they love.’
Jerrell Jimerson said “I am impressed by Strava’s dedication to its subscribers, and with co-founders Mark Gainey and Michael Horvath’s vision for the future of the company, community and the world of sport.
“At my core I still love to obsess over products, and am thrilled to join Strava’s board of directors and contribute to the evolution of the leading subscription service for athletes.”
Jerrell Jimerson is Executive Vice President, Product, Disney Streaming, where he oversees all aspects of product, UX, and design for The Walt Disney Company’s direct-to-consumer video streaming businesses, including Disney+, Hulu, and Star+.
Jimerson joined The Walt Disney Company in 2018 and is responsible for leading the vision, strategy, and execution for the product management organization at Disney Streaming. Jerrell and his team have played a key role in the company’s pivot into the direct-to-consumer space, including the launch of Disney+ in 2019 and Star+ in Latin America in 2021.
An early internet pioneer, Jimerson has been at the forefront at some of the biggest disruptions in tech over the last two decades. Early in his career, he was part of the team at Netscape that introduced Navigator and Netcenter, the first modern browser and one of the early online services, ushering in the web. He has also held senior leadership and product roles at Yahoo, PayPal and iHeart Radio.
