"If I were to pick one out that I think was very strategically crucial at the time and still is, it's Pixar," says Kevin Mayer, who heads up Walt Disney Co.'s corporate strategy and business development, when asked to identify the company's most successful acquisition. "We were having a lot of difficulty in our main creative engine, which is feature animation, and Pixar was definitely a leader. Getting them into the fold to create franchises on behalf of the Walt Disney Co. that then we can monetize across all of those business platforms, that has been a real home run." Disney is the 2011 Most Admired Corporate Dealmaker in consumer discretionary, the second time the company has won. In this video interview with The Deal magazine, Mayer also discusses the more recent Marvel Entertainment Inc. and Club Penguin purchases and how they are emblematic of Disney's dealmaking style, which he describes as disciplined and strategic. Does he have a one-that-got-away? "My honest answer to that would be no," says Mayer. "The things that we really, really want, that might have gotten away, we were able to buy." For more on M&A at Disney, read the profile, "Characters and stories," by Chris Nolter in the Sept. 19 issue of The Deal magazine. And for more on the winners in other sectors, watch the video with senior editor, corporate dealmaking, Suzanne Miller. - Mary Kathleen Flynn

Executive Producer: Tom Groppe
Reporter/Producer: Mary Kathleen Flynn
Director/Editor: George White
Animator/Archivist: Neil Buchalter