The morning of December 31, 2025 I received a text from an old co-worker informing me of the death of one of the giants of media. The gifted, brilliant and entrepreneurial Diego Lerner had passed away. He had been ill for the last couple of years of his earthly life. I hadn't had any contact with him in two decades, so I had no idea what happened in the intervening years of life. His passing hit me in a way I would not have expected.
I worked in media my entire adult life and I had the great privilege to work with many incredibly talented, intelligent and creative people. Diego Lerner was an attorney and a wise man in many ways of business and life. He was the genius behind the mighty growth of The Walt Disney Company in Latin America. Disney's gigantic expansion throughout Latin America was mostly attributed to Lerner's vision. He ran Latin America Disney for 30 years starting back in the early 1990's. My career at Disney/ABC started the same year his did.
He was so overwhelmingly successful that in 2009 he was given reign over Disney's European, Middle East and Northern Africa's groups. It would be a massive understatement to say this was a magnificent accomplishment.
I met Diego Lerner about ten years into both of our company runs. His tenure was significantly more successful than mine. I have no complaints, since I rose up a bit here and there on the proverbial corporate ladder in the Los Angeles offices, but he literally could have run the entire company. Lerner not only had a tremendous talent in getting his way, but he also possessed top connections to major political figures. Diego Lerner loved Disney. He literally loved the brand. I never encountered anyone in my near two decade career with the company who loved all things Disney as much as he did.
I was introduced to him by a co-worker in the company. One day she said to me as I passed her in the hallway she wanted to fix us up. This was a highly unusual move, but I took it as a great compliment coming from her. She and Diego were friends. I remember the first time I laid eyes on him. He was exiting a Disney Dimensions event and he was in his usual black suit and white shirt business attire. I can still see him and that smile. Yes, I can still see that smile.
I never dated anyone I ever worked with in my entire career and in hindsight I wouldn't even call it dating. We dined together when he was in town and our major bond was over horses. I loved horses. I still ride on a weekly basis, so it was a huge part of life - then and now. He shared that love of horses. When he came to Los Angeles we would go and ride. The last time I saw him we were riding in the Santa Monica mountains. We looked out and beheld a gorgeous view at the top of the ridge and then we returned to the stalls. I was all grimy and even muddy from a recent rare rain. He still seemed perfectly clean and neat. On a cloudy day with a couple of coyotes sharing the hill I got to say farewell to one of the most attractive men God ever put on the planet. Looking at the photo all these years later is near poetic.
Diego Lerner was brilliant, engaging, kind, charismatic, complicated, thoughtful, vibrant and a true media renaissance man.
He was certainly one of the most impressive people I ever encountered in my thirty years of working with some exceptional people.
I do hope he spent time during his final two years of life thinking about his eternal life. He was a rare human - a delightful man that one rarely encounters along the path of life.
One of the most consequential realities - life is brief and fragile.
Diego Lerner is survived by his wife and three children. The company will go on and life itself will go on. Life always goes on, but for those of us who got to know him - even for a relatively brief period in our own lifetimes he will be remembered fondly and with deep affection.
Copyright The Flaming Nose 2026
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