At Disney, New Leaders in Internet and Gaming

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The Walt Disney Company shook up its underperforming Internet and gaming division on Sunday, effectively splitting the unit in two and tapping two outsiders to lead the businesses.

James A. Pitaro, vice president of Yahoo Media, and John Pleasants, chief executive of Playdom, a booming social gaming company that Disney bought in July, were named co-presidents of the Disney Interactive Media Group. Their hiring follows the departure on Sept. 24 of Steve Wadsworth as the division president.

The reorganization is an acknowledgment that there is untapped opportunity in the division, which has struggled to find a winning strategy. The unit lost $65 million in the most recent quarter on revenue of $197 million.

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