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Netflix has appointed former Disney executive Peter Rice as its new Chief Content Officer, replacing Bela Bajaria. The leadership change coincides with recent layoffs affecting approximately 1,000 employees.
Netflix has named Peter Rice as its new Chief Content Officer, succeeding Bela Bajaria who is exiting the company. Rice, a former executive at The Walt Disney Company, will begin his new role on October 26.
Rice will oversee all content at Netflix, including scripted and unscripted series, films, and live events. He previously served as Chairman of Walt Disney Television and Chairman of General Entertainment for The Walt Disney Company. He was removed from that position in June 2022 and replaced by Dana Walden. Prior to joining Disney, Rice was a veteran of 20th Century Fox.
In July 2025, Rice was named Head of Ceremonies and Content for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO of Netflix, praised Rice’s industry experience in a statement. “Peter is one of the most effective at-scale operators in the entertainment industry. His business acumen is sharp, his talent relationships are exceptionally strong, and his experience across TV and film is deep and broad,” said Sarandos. “He understands what makes stories resonate, and he’s spent his career helping talent do the best work of their lives. I’m excited to welcome him to Netflix as Chief Content Officer as we continue to scale and deliver members more of the stories they love.”
Rice expressed enthusiasm for joining the streaming giant. “Netflix has fundamentally changed the way stories are made, shared and experienced around the world,” said Rice. “They’ve shown again and again that they’re willing to take chances on distinctive voices and fresh ideas, and I’m excited to work with the team to help bring even more great stories to members everywhere.”
Bela Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016 as a Vice President, shortly after leaving NBCUniversal where she served as president of Universal Television. She rose to lead all TV operations four years later and was appointed Chief Content Officer in 2023. During her tenure, Netflix released major titles such as “Bridgerton,” “Arcane,” and “Squid Game,” and established partnerships with WWE and the NFL.
The leadership change occurs amid significant workforce reductions. Netflix recently shed 1,000 employees, representing about 6 percent of its workforce. These cuts mark the company’s first layoffs in four years. Netflix has historically favored individual team changes over broad layoffs, a culture founder Reed Hastings compared to a sports team rather than a family. “If you say it’s like a championship sports team and we’ve got all these competitors and we want to win the championship, then people understand why the coaches make changes,” Hastings told a Semafor podcast in August.
Other senior executives have also exited Netflix in recent days, including VP in film Doug Belgrad and TV executives Lisa Lang McMullen, James Oh, Carolina Garcia, and Andrew McQuinn. Sarandos noted that Bajaria presided over an expansion in unscripted programming, live events, and sports during her time at the company.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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