George Morrell, the former executive vp communications advocacy for BP, will be taking on a new expanded position for PR of Disney. As the chief corporate affairs officer, he will oversee communications, government relations, philanthropy, public policy, and environmental issues. Morrell has inherited the responsibilities of Disney's top communications officer Zenia Mucha who announced her retirment from the company at year's end along with fellow veteran Disney executive Alan Braverman, the Senior EVP and Corporate General Counsel. Disney chairman Bob Iger also announced his retirement from the company and both Mucha and Braverman were two of his most loyal lieutenants at Disney.

Morrell moved to London in 2017 to run BP's group communications and external affairs after spending six years as the head of BP America's communications and government relations teams.

On Tuesday, December 7, Disney issued a statement saying that Morrell will start on January 24, 2022 and report directly to CEO Bob Chapek, who was the replacement of Iger after the latter's retirement in February 2020. “In this unique time of industry disruption and social change, it is more important than ever that our consumers, communities, employees, and shareholders understand who we are and what we stand for. At the same time, the spheres of communications, corporate governance, social responsibility, government relations and public policy are increasingly interconnected and require a focused, coordinated approach. Geoff is a seasoned, insightful and accomplished public affairs officer, and I am delighted to appoint him to this new role, where he will build on Disney’s already strong reputation.,” Chapek said in a press release.

Morrell was a former White House correspondent at ABC News before he served as chief spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense in the Bush and Obama administration. He joined BP and was "instrumental in rebuilding bp's reputation following the Deepwater Horizon accident" according to his bio on BP's corporate website. The said accident took place in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico.