Marco de Ruiter

Marco de Ruiter is Country Manager for The Walt Disney Company Benelux since the acquisition of 21st Century FOX by Disney in April 2019.

He is responsible for all Disney operations in the territory, ranging from theatrical releases, to the portfolio of TV channels as well as Disney+. He is also co-managing director for the joint venture with the Eredivisie and KNVB that operates the ESPN-channels in The Netherlands. Marco joined FOX in October 2013 as Managing Director for Germany and France and prior to that he has worked for MTV Networks/Viacom/Paramount from 2002-2012 in several roles, leaving as Chief Operating Officer for Germany, Benelux and Nordics. Before 2002 he has worked in various finance roles with companies in The Netherlands, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. From 2013 to 2016 Marco has served as non-executive director on the board of Caiway, the 3rd largest cable operator in The Netherlands

Next to his professional career Marco has been active as an angel investor in various technology startups in media, sports and healthy living. He is currently involved in Sentiance (www.sentiance.com), Wholygreens (www.wholygreens.com) and the Dutch Sporttech Fund (www.dutchsporttechfund.com), where he sits in the innovation committee.

Since October 2020 Marco has been member of the board of Bio Vakantieoord, a holiday resort in Arnhem that provides ordinary vacations to families with extraordinary care requirements. Stichting Bio vakantieoord was established in 1927 by the Nederlandse Bioscoopbond and is still deeply connected with the Dutch film industry.