{"id":4771,"date":"2009-09-30T05:09:43","date_gmt":"2009-09-30T05:09:43","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-15T13:25:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T13:25:29","slug":"aparna-pande-general-manager-at-disney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=4771","title":{"rendered":"Aparna Pande – General Manager at Disney"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nAparna Pande is General Manager at Disney Publishing Worldwide responsible for FamilyFun, Wondertime, and Disney en Familia magazines and oversees editorial, consumer marketing, production, advertising sales, and marketing efforts for the U.S. Consumer Magazine division.<\/p>\n

Pande joined Disney Publishing Worldwide from Meredith Publishing where she most recently served as General Manager, Parenthood Group. Pande oversaw the P&L for Parents and American Baby magazines and associated brand extensions. Prior to this position, Pande was Director, Planning and Development, where she supported the President of Meredith\u2019s Publishing Group on strategy and operational initiatives. She also served as Brand Manager of Meredith\u2019s Children\u2019s Books, launching this brand-new business. Before Meredith, Aparna was Assistant Brand Manager at Mattel. <\/p>\n

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Pande has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. She earned her MBA from the University of Southern California, with a focus on Strategy and Entrepreneurship. <\/p>\n

Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW) is the world’s largest publisher of children’s books and magazines, with over 400 children’s magazines published and 120 million children’s books sold each year. DPW’s business units include Global Children’s Magazines, U.S. Consumer Magazines, English Language Learning, and Disney Global Book Group.<\/i>
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ASIANCE: What was your career path that brought you to your current position? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> I was recruited out of Mattel to join Meredith. That\u2019s where I made the initial cross over from pure consumer products to something in publishing, not for media yet. After launching that business, I moved into a strategic planning role where I worked for the whole portfolio of businesses; magazines, websites, integrated marketing, etc. Then, I moved into the General Manager role at Parenthood Group which was for American Baby. That\u2019s when Disney called me up and it came full circle because it touched on earlier points in my career. They asked me if I wanted to be the General Manager of FamilyFun. So that\u2019s how I ended up. It\u2019s a sort of a non-traditional way of working your way up instead of the traditional way of moving all the way up in the same company.<\/p>\n

I like it because it gives me a different perspective. I surround myself with people who have different functional roles and I\u2019ve always learned something new.<\/p>\n

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\nWhen you come from business school and a strategy role, then you need to manage people\u2026that has been the most fun for me.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Aparna Pande<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

ASIANCE: Would you recommend that instead of moving straight up through one company? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> I think it depends on the type of person you are. I thrive on being challenged and always want to learn. So whether it\u2019s a cross industry or it\u2019s within the same company, I really enjoy that every couple of years that I had a new challenge to undertake. I certainly wouldn\u2019t tell people to shy away from that.<\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Is there anything that you found pretty difficult along the way?<\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> One of the things, when you\u2019re running a big group, is people management. When you come from business school and a strategy role, then you need to manage people\u2026that has been the most fun for me. It stretches you but it\u2019s the hardest part because human emotions get involved and you just can\u2019t make cut and dry business decisions because you have to get people to want to do those things. That\u2019s where I\u2019ve been stretched but I\u2019m glad because I think it\u2019s an important skill to learn in your career.<\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Do they bother you with personal problems? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> It\u2019s not so much they come to me with personal problems, it\u2019s just the dynamics of people interacting with each other. It\u2019s like being a coach of a basketball team. All these people are there because they are very good at what they do but you are trying to get the team to win. And if it\u2019s like Kobe and Shaq, they channel all of this. Many have been there before you got there. <\/p>\n

Plus, we\u2019re in a tumultuous environment right now. Regardless if it was me or not, anybody would have to do things that haven\u2019t been done before. We all have to work in a state of discomfort. Long term business was in some ways reliable. Now, business models have been challenged, questioned and rewritten. <\/p>\n

ASIANCE: What do you see as the future for Disney Publishing Worldwide? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> I should probably make that statement for my own group which is the Disney FamilyFun group. The future for my group is really thinking about ways to use our capabilities, talents and assets beyond the magazine. We have this incredible magazine and huge website. I think we have the capability of doing custom publishing and custom media for clients because we have all this online content and talent of our team. I think we can do that for clients.<\/p>\n

We include cultural contests in the content we make. I\u2019m also looking at international opportunities. Not so much niche media in the United States but the content and capabilities and what that can mean we can develop for other countries. <\/p>\n

\n
\"Xander<\/a><\/div>\n
Xander Kavi Cheuk and Zachary Navin Cheuk<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

ASIANCE: You moved to Arizona from India when you were 8 years old? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> My dad was a professor. He was a visiting professor. When he came to Arizona, we were supposed to go back in a year or two, but one of his older students offered him a job. This student worked as a senior person at an engineering firm and wanted to brush up on his engineering. He liked my dad, thought he was really smart and offered him a job. My parents had us stay really connected to India, so we would go back every few years. I have a lot of relatives there. I got married in India. <\/p>\n

My grandmother died last year but both my grandmothers live in India. The family usually comes here. My boys are only 9 months. Their names are Xander Kavi Cheuk and Zachary Navin Cheuk. I really want to bring them there. <\/p>\n

My husband is Chinese. We have a real multi-ethnic family.<\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Do you have help?<\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> I have a nanny. She is experienced in twins. Many nannies can handle two kids but with twins you have to have special skills, like feeding two children at once. (laughs) <\/p>\n

ASIANCE: When you get home from work are they ready and waiting for you? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> They\u2019re usually finishing up their dinner when I come home. We let them walk around, bathe them and give them massages. In India, they give babies massages. Every day since they were born, we\u2019ve given them massages. <\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Are they more Chinese or South Asian looking? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> That is always a big source of discussion. They have big eyes. Their skin color is lighter than mine. Things change too. The skin color will probably change. They are very cute. They have both Chinese and Indian names.<\/p>\n

ASIANCE: How did you meet your husband? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> When I was at business school, his best friend was my classmate. My husband is a creative so he would never go to business school. He thinks we\u2019re dry and soulless. (laughs) I\u2019m joking. But now he\u2019s starting his own business. He was an Art Director at an ad agency. He launched his own business at the beginning of the year doing online videos. He\u2019s had a lot of business in the last few months. He\u2019s doing a project on a business that Marc Ecko runs. He works from home. <\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Did you family have a problem with you marrying a non-Indian? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> It was a question. My parents definitely asked if I was sure about that. It wasn\u2019t a surprise because my whole life I\u2019ve dated people of different ethnic origin. I\u2019ve dated Caucasian. In high school I dated a mini-Barack Obama. He was half Jamaican and white. It\u2019s so funny because they actually do have the same life. He ended up going to Law School at Harvard. His wife is a lawyer. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve pushed the dating envelope my whole life so it wasn\u2019t a total shock. They accepted that he was the person. All they had to do was meet him because he is such a nice person. Once my grandmother accepted him so did everyone else. <\/p>\n

ASIANCE: And his family was open? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> Yes they are pretty open. His sister in law is from Spain. <\/p>\n

ASIANCE: Do you follow any other Asian American women\u2019s career? <\/h3>\n

Aparna:<\/b> I admire all Asian American women\u2019s careers. I love to read about all different women\u2019s careers, in particular, Indra Nooyi from Pepsi. I just love to hear her speak. I love how she is so smart, yet so fun. She was talking how she made all the executives dinner and they went to Karaoke. She\u2019s really been a role model for me because I think I\u2019ve been really driven. <\/p>\n