Disney World Executive Promoted
Al Weiss will now be in charge of park operations around the world.
By Jerry W. Jackson and Beth Kassab
Orlando Sentinel
November 15, 2005
Longtime Walt Disney World President Al Weiss was promoted Monday to a new position overseeing park operations worldwide -- part of a sweeping change in the way the Walt Disney Co. operates its Parks and Resorts division.
Weiss, who has headed the Orlando-area theme parks since 1994, will continue to oversee Walt Disney World on an interim basis until a successor is appointed, the company said. He will remain in Orlando, home of the company's largest resort.
"I'm very exited about taking on worldwide operations," Weiss, 51, said. "What we're doing is transforming the resort segment into a true global organization."
Weiss' promotion to president, Worldwide Operations, comes at a challenging time for Disney's parks as they search for ways to remain fresh amid increasing competition from entertainment options from iPods to other theme parks.
Increasingly, Disney sees opportunity in overseas markets, such as Hong Kong, where a park opened in September. Weiss said he will share ideas among parks as Disney continues efforts to grow abroad.
Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said Weiss and six other executives on a new executive committee will report directly to him and will help integrate business functions from the far-flung parks into the global division.
Rasulo, who was on his way to Paris and could not be reached for comment, said in a statement that the new structure will "streamline the decision-making process" and help the company develop consistent business practices for its 11 parks and resorts, which stretch from Orlando and Anaheim, Calif., to Hong Kong, Paris and Tokyo.
Weiss said in a telephone interview Monday night that he is looking forward to taking on added responsibilities and will remain in Orlando, where Disney is the area's largest employer at 57,000 workers.
"My role is taking the best ideas and making sure they transfer to the other sites as quickly and efficiently as possible," Weiss said. He said in his new position all theme-park presidents will report to him and that he is not expecting other executives to relocate to Orlando.
Weiss said the new global emphasis from a business and operating standpoint does not mean that the parks around the world will become uniform.
"They're going to continue to stay very unique," he said.
Weiss said he will work with Rasulo to find a successor at Walt Disney World, a process that could take a year or more.
"I don't have a specific timetable," he said, and internal and external candidates will likely be considered for the job.
"It's too early to predict where that person might come from," he said. "We're certainly going to look at all the talent internally."
In addition to Weiss, the only other executive whose job title is changing is Leslie Goodman, a company spokeswoman in California. She becomes senior vice president of public affairs, in charge of internal and external communication, community and governmental affairs for all the parks worldwide. Her title previously was senior vice president of strategic communications.
Goodman said the changes won't be noticed by Disney's visitors, who already see the parks as a single entity, but it will allow executives in the resort division to more quickly and easily share information and implement changes.
"This is really a platform for sharing," Goodman said, with Rasulo still running the whole show for the division. The executive committee will meet regularly, she said, both in person in the Burbank, Calif., headquarters and elsewhere, and members will spend more time at the individual parks and resorts.
In a memo to employees, Rasulo said the new organization "will allow me, with the help of this new leadership team, to focus more energy on our future" and "help us strike the right balance between our focus on current business and future growth."
One other Orlando-based executive, Meg Crofton, joins the committee and will remain in Orlando.
Other Orlando-based vice presidents not on the committee are also expected to take on global assignments, a Disney World spokeswoman said.
Weiss, the Chicago-born son of a Baptist minister, moved with his family to Orlando while in high school.
He started work at Walt Disney World in 1972 at 18, a year after the park opened, working the evening shift in the accounting department while attending college. He earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida and an MBA from Rollins College, rising steadily through the ranks at Disney.
In 1993 he was promoted to executive vice president of the resorts division, and in 1994 he was promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president of Walt Disney World. The title was changed in 1996 to president of Walt Disney World.
Al Weiss will now be in charge of park operations around the world.
By Jerry W. Jackson and Beth Kassab
Orlando Sentinel
November 15, 2005
Longtime Walt Disney World President Al Weiss was promoted Monday to a new position overseeing park operations worldwide -- part of a sweeping change in the way the Walt Disney Co. operates its Parks and Resorts division.
Weiss, who has headed the Orlando-area theme parks since 1994, will continue to oversee Walt Disney World on an interim basis until a successor is appointed, the company said. He will remain in Orlando, home of the company's largest resort.
"I'm very exited about taking on worldwide operations," Weiss, 51, said. "What we're doing is transforming the resort segment into a true global organization."
Weiss' promotion to president, Worldwide Operations, comes at a challenging time for Disney's parks as they search for ways to remain fresh amid increasing competition from entertainment options from iPods to other theme parks.
Increasingly, Disney sees opportunity in overseas markets, such as Hong Kong, where a park opened in September. Weiss said he will share ideas among parks as Disney continues efforts to grow abroad.
Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said Weiss and six other executives on a new executive committee will report directly to him and will help integrate business functions from the far-flung parks into the global division.
Rasulo, who was on his way to Paris and could not be reached for comment, said in a statement that the new structure will "streamline the decision-making process" and help the company develop consistent business practices for its 11 parks and resorts, which stretch from Orlando and Anaheim, Calif., to Hong Kong, Paris and Tokyo.
Weiss said in a telephone interview Monday night that he is looking forward to taking on added responsibilities and will remain in Orlando, where Disney is the area's largest employer at 57,000 workers.
"My role is taking the best ideas and making sure they transfer to the other sites as quickly and efficiently as possible," Weiss said. He said in his new position all theme-park presidents will report to him and that he is not expecting other executives to relocate to Orlando.
Weiss said the new global emphasis from a business and operating standpoint does not mean that the parks around the world will become uniform.
"They're going to continue to stay very unique," he said.
Weiss said he will work with Rasulo to find a successor at Walt Disney World, a process that could take a year or more.
"I don't have a specific timetable," he said, and internal and external candidates will likely be considered for the job.
"It's too early to predict where that person might come from," he said. "We're certainly going to look at all the talent internally."
In addition to Weiss, the only other executive whose job title is changing is Leslie Goodman, a company spokeswoman in California. She becomes senior vice president of public affairs, in charge of internal and external communication, community and governmental affairs for all the parks worldwide. Her title previously was senior vice president of strategic communications.
Goodman said the changes won't be noticed by Disney's visitors, who already see the parks as a single entity, but it will allow executives in the resort division to more quickly and easily share information and implement changes.
"This is really a platform for sharing," Goodman said, with Rasulo still running the whole show for the division. The executive committee will meet regularly, she said, both in person in the Burbank, Calif., headquarters and elsewhere, and members will spend more time at the individual parks and resorts.
In a memo to employees, Rasulo said the new organization "will allow me, with the help of this new leadership team, to focus more energy on our future" and "help us strike the right balance between our focus on current business and future growth."
One other Orlando-based executive, Meg Crofton, joins the committee and will remain in Orlando.
Other Orlando-based vice presidents not on the committee are also expected to take on global assignments, a Disney World spokeswoman said.
Weiss, the Chicago-born son of a Baptist minister, moved with his family to Orlando while in high school.
He started work at Walt Disney World in 1972 at 18, a year after the park opened, working the evening shift in the accounting department while attending college. He earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Central Florida and an MBA from Rollins College, rising steadily through the ranks at Disney.
In 1993 he was promoted to executive vice president of the resorts division, and in 1994 he was promoted to the newly created position of executive vice president of Walt Disney World. The title was changed in 1996 to president of Walt Disney World.