It's the big news of the day: DLP CEO Philippe Gas will leave DLP and become General Manager of Shanghai Disney Resort. Tom Wolber becomes Disneyland Paris new CEO. More about all this below:
"Euro Disney S.C.A. today announced the nomination of Tom Wolber to the position of Président of Euro Disney S.A.S., the management company of both Euro Disney S.C.A., the holding company, and Euro Disney Associés S.C.A., the operator of Disneyland® Paris, in replacement of Philippe Gas named General Manager of Shanghai Disney Resort.
"One of our greatest assets is the global strength of our teams," said Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. "Both Philippe and Tom are seasoned Disney veterans with a tremendous combination of leadership skills, business acumen, and international experience that will help ensure that we carry on our legacy of creating unforgettable experiences for our guests. They bring an incredible depth of operational experience to their respective roles and are well positioned to contribute to the future success of Shanghai Disney Resort and Disneyland Resort Paris".
"On behalf of all Supervisory Board members, I would like to thank Philippe for the excellent collaboration we had together and for his personal involvement in Euro Disney during the last 6 years," said Virginie Calmels, chairman of Euro Disney Supervisory Board. "We are very proud that The Walt Disney Company has chosen Philippe, a French top executive, to lead a huge and strategic project such as Shanghai Disney Resort. We also welcome Tom and wish him a lot of success in his new function."
Tom's appointment will be effective in September 2014. He will transition into this new role during the summer, working with Philippe to ensure continued commitment to the company's long term strategic priorities.
Tom is German and speaks 4 languages: French, Dutch, English and German. He returns to Disneyland Paris, which he helped to open in 1992 and brings more than 20 years of wide-ranging operations experience including leadership positions at Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club and both Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Paris. He most recently served as the head of Walt Disney World Resort and Transportation Operations, overseeing all of the 28 resort hotels and the property's extensive transportation network. He has also overseen a number of complex expansion projects, including the successful launch of the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy and was instrumental in the Disney Springs master plan and the continued growth of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts' sports business.
Tom Wolber is Dutch. ;) Has this change anything to do with the rumoured new strategy of DLP? Does this mark the rumoured increase of rehabs, tsm, update of 10 DLP rides and 2 WDS rides? Incl Star Tours 2.0.
ReplyDeleteen espérant que l'auto bronzant et le blanchiment de dents soient d'aussi de bonne qualité en Chine...
ReplyDeleteTom isn't German, he's Dutch!
ReplyDeleteI really would like to understand what that all means for teh future of Disneyland.
ReplyDeleteObviously Disneyland Paris currently underperforms.
However Disney doesn't seem to think that Philippe does a bad job, otherwise it would make no sense to move him to another brand new park that needs to be established on the market.
Now what is the strategy behind all this from a Disney perspective? Is Philippe the one that is able to develop a park but not able to monetize it and thats currently not so important in Shanghai?
Is Tom Wolber the money-maker that tries to get money out of a park that is already developed? If so, is the next thing that will be developed at Disneyland new fees?