PEOPLE : Neil McCarthy Moves From Disney to Orion

Neil McCarthy, a former Walt Disney Co. executive who specialized in acquisitions, has been named senior vice president-operations and finance at Orion Pictures Corp.

McCarthy fills a newly created position at Orion at a time when the company is undergoing management changes. The independent film company, which is based in New York, recently lost motion picture production chief Mike Medavoy to Tri Star Pictures. In addition, Metromedia Inc., which owns a 70% stake in the company, has recently been talking to several prospective buyers.

Orion Chairman Arthur Krim said McCarthy, 40, was hired to help chart the company’s financial course for the 1990s.

“One of the reasons we felt he was the right man is that he has been quite active at Disney in the acquisition area, and in innovative financing of those acquisitions,” Krim said. “I can’t be specific about what’s going to happen here, but when a fertile mind goes to work . . . something may very well develop.”

McCarthy was a key member of the financial team at Disney, where he was senior vice president-planning and control. He negotiated several of the company’s acquisitions and divestitures, developed film financing strategy and was a key planner of the creative financing for the $725-million prepayment of Disney’s Toyko Disneyland royalties.

McCarthy went to Disney from the Marriott Corp., where he specialized in acquisitions and new business opportunities, primarily in the Far East and Canada.