Studio executives: Chief executive of Walt Disney Co, and chairman of Walt Disney Studios
Ross, 48, is one of Hollywood's (relatively) young guns. Having stepped up from the Disney TV channel, he replaced the long-serving Dick Cook in 2009 as head of the studios. No doubt he is charged by CEO Bob Iger, 59, with sprinkling some of that High School Musical magic on the company's big-screen output. It's a little early to tell, of course, but as our studio insider tells us, Disney is looking to develop more tentpole movies, and films aimed at young people. Call it the Ross effect. Disney's figures this year have been sustained by two global hits – Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland – while other wannabe blockbusters, such as Prince of Persia and The Sorcerer's Apprentice, are generally held to have underperformed. The feeling is that Disney is emerging slowly from a difficult period that has been dominated by its tangled relationship with Pixar, which stems from disagreements over Toy Story 2 back in 2004. The problem was sorted out by 2006, with Iger taking personal responsibility for Disney's purchase of Pixar, when John Lasseter was installed as chief creative officer. Since then, Iger has looked to freshen Disney by capitalising on the tween audience it has gained through TV properties such as Hannah Montana and HSM. The stats – in which Disney currently stands fourth in US market share, with 13.7% – show there's still some way to go.