TORI FERNANDES: Former intern now Fortune 500 pro, pioneered the communica¬tions strategy for Disney’s largestever “upfront,” or advertising sales period, which recorded more than $9 billion in advertising commitments. PHOTO COURTESY OF BPRW

Staff report

Tori Fernandes, vice president of Corporate Communications at Disney, is an accredited communications and crisis management leader with a decade of experience delivering award-winning communications and public relations campaigns at Fortune 500 companies. Fernandes has a wealth of experience in corporate branding, consumer marketing and consumer products, special events, social media and tech, crisis, internal communications, business-tobusiness, and entertainment public relations campaigns.

She also has experience managing and working closely with C-level executives and top-line management and has proven ability in strategic thinking, creative problem-solving and managing multiple teams and projects.

Fernandes pioneered the communications strategy for Disney’s largest-ever “upfront,” or advertising sales period, which recorded more than $9 billion in advertising commitments.

She contributed to the ad-tier launch of the Disney+ streaming service. The launch included more than 100 partners.

Fernandes initiated a small-business accelerator program for underrepresented populations.

Prior to working at Disney, Fernandes worked at the Public Relations Society of America, the Nielsen Company and Nickelodeon.

She serves on the board at the non-profit ANA Education Foundation, which connects the advertising, marketing and academic communities. She is also a junior chair for the Food Bank for New York City.

Fernandes went to school for music business and began her career through an internship with VH1’s Public Affairs division, according to globalnybiz.com.

TODAY WITH A WEALTH OF CORPORATE BUSINESS EXPERIENCE, FERNANDES WENT TO SCHOOL FOR MUSIC BUSINESS AND BEGAN HER CAREER THROUGH AN INTERNSHIP WITH VH1’S PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIVISION

She worked for their Save the Music Foundation – an organization that provides musical instruments and encourages arts programs in schools around the country.

That team reported into the Communications, so from time to time, she would help make calls for TV listings and follow up with mailings.

A year later, Fernandes was offered a temporary assignment with Nickelodeon’s Communications group, working as an admin for the team’s EVP.

She would often offer to extend her help to the team when she had free time, and the Corporate Communications team always needed help, because they were the leanest.

It was an instant fit for her; Corporate Communications is often the unsung hero of a comms team, in a unique position within a company and responsible for myriad things, globalnybiz.com reported.