Ayo Davis

Ayo Davis is president of Disney Branded Television, the unit of Disney Entertainment Television that creates premium original storytelling for kids and families. In this role, she oversees the group’s expansive slate of live-action, animated and short-form entertainment for Disney+, Disney Jr., Disney Channel and digital platforms.

Since being named to the position in 2021, Davis has led one of the most successful and acclaimed portfolios in kids’ and family entertainment, earning an industry-leading 69 nominations and 18 wins at the 2025 Children’s and Family Emmy Awards. Under her leadership, Disney Branded Television has launched and reimagined hit series and movies including preschool favorites “Bluey” (the No. 1 streaming title in 2024 and 2025), “Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends,” “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+” and “SuperKitties”; kid and tween hits including “Phineas and Ferb,” “Vampirina: Teenage Vampire” and “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place”; fan-favorite movie franchises “Descendants” and “Zombies”; and global family tentpoles like “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.”

Known for her strong creative relationships, Davis has attracted some of the industry’s top creative talent to overalls with Disney Branded Television, including Raven-Symoné (“Raven’s Home”), Tim Federle (“Coven Academy,” “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” “Vampirina: Teenage Vampire”), Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar (“The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder”), Chris and Shane Houghton (“Big City Greens”), and Dan Povenmire (“Hamster & Gretel,” “Phineas and Ferb”).

A 23-year veteran of The Walt Disney Company, Davis previously served as executive vice president, creative development and strategy at Disney Branded Television from 2020-2021 and, before that, as executive vice president, talent and casting at ABC Entertainment and Disney+. There, she helped shape acclaimed series including “black-ish,” “Desperate Housewives,” “The Good Doctor” and “How to Get Away with Murder,” and championed the careers of actors including Viola Davis, Eva Longoria, Gina Rodriguez and Jesse Williams. Davis also launched ABC Discovers, a collection of casting initiatives aimed at discovering and nurturing up-and-coming talent from around the world, whose alumni include Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal and Gina Rodriguez.

Davis is a member of the board of trustees of Dillard University and served on the board of directors for the T. Howard Foundation. She is a member of Jack and Jill of America Inc. and served as a member of the host committee board of Girls Inc. She has been featured on Variety’s Power of Women and Family Entertainment Impact lists; The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment, Most Powerful People in Kids’ Entertainment, and Hollywood’s Top Forces for Change lists; and EBONY’s Power 100 list. She received the African American Film Critics Association’s 2025 Salute to Excellence Award and was named a Multichannel News Wonder Woman.

Davis received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Dillard University.