Josh D'Amaro Unveils New Leadership Roles for Disney Parks and Cruise Line

7 days ago in "The Walt Disney Company"

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Walt Disney Company headquarters in Burbank, California

Posted: Thursday January 23, 2025 5:00pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro has announced key leadership changes across his executive team, including the creation of a new role to oversee major events integration and new appointments for Disneyland Resort, Disney Signature Experiences, and Shanghai Disney Resort. Disney says that the changes align with the company's global growth plans for its cruise line business and theme parks.

"We have a deep bench of globally minded business leaders who bring the versatility needed to step into key roles across our diverse portfolio," D'Amaro said. "These tenured leaders have extensive technical and operational expertise with strong insight and understanding of the guest experience, and possess qualities that promote innovation, creativity, and results."

Leadership Announcements

Ken Potrock assumes the newly created role of President, The Walt Disney Company Major Events Integration. Potrock will oversee large-scale events like the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the U.S. 250th Anniversary celebration. Potrock's tenure at Disneyland Resort included the post-pandemic reopening, Avengers Campus launch, Downtown Disney District expansion, and securing the DisneylandForward plan, which paves the way for 40 years of potential growth in Anaheim. Potrock will report to D'Amaro with additional accountability to Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman of ESPN.

Thomas Mazloum is now President of Disneyland Resort. Mazloum will manage the resort's 36,000 Cast Members, two theme parks, three hotels, and Downtown Disney District. He will also lead the implementation of DisneylandForward's vision. Previously, Mazloum led Disney Signature Experiences, where he spearheaded plans to double Disney Cruise Line's fleet size by 2031. He has also held leadership roles at Walt Disney World, overseeing key operations like transportation and Disney Springs. Mazloum will report to D’Amaro.

Joe Schott becomes President of Disney Signature Experiences (DSE), overseeing Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Aulani, Adventures by Disney, and more. Schott, a 40-year Disney veteran, led Shanghai Disney Resort's expansion, including the new Zootopia-themed land and a Spider-Man attraction under development. Schott's experience in international markets is expected to support Disney Cruise Line's global fleet expansion. Schott will report directly to D'Amaro.

Andrew Bolstein is promoted to President & General Manager of Shanghai Disney Resort. Bolstein was part of the resort's opening leadership team and has worked in leadership roles in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Shanghai for nearly 13 years. His focus will include operational excellence and building partnerships with the local community and government. Bolstein will report to Jill Estorino, President and Managing Director of Disney Parks International.

The transitions into the new roles are effective immediately.

Discuss on the Forums

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Agent H55 minutes ago

Look I don’t like vahle either but what evidence do you have that he has an “intense dislike” of figment ?

HauntedPirate1 hour ago

(If you're doubting that, Mr. Vahle has apparently "an intense dislike", shall we say, of the pavilion)

Agent H1 hour ago

😒

HauntedPirate1 hour ago

(Not shown - The "I Hate Figment and the Imagination Pavilion" placard)

mysto16 hours ago

My appreciation for the Japanese people, culture, and even products has only grown over time. And i'm old. Unfortunately my appreciation usually means that something will become unreachable. I don't expect OLC's influence to expand.

Cliff16 hours ago

I would say, just be "honest". When something is positive, be honest about it. If something is "negative", just be honest about it. Call balls and strikes honestly. What we should NEVER do is think: "Well, that pitch was CLEARLY a low left ball. But, I don't want to hurt the pitcher's feelings so I'll just call it a strike and try to be positive about it." I dunno,...just be as real as you can be, and don't be afraid of or avoid the truth.....no matter where it lands.

TsWade21 day ago

Geez, everybody is so negative! But what do I know?

monothingie7 days ago

That doesn’t sound very profitable. Why won’t you think of Bob and his yachts.

Cliff7 days ago

After spending a week in Tokyo Disneyland in November? Wow! Just turn ALL of Burbank's Parks and Experiences division to the Oriental Land Company. I'm now 100% convinced that these people do "Disney" WAY better than Burbank does. From what I see, OLC has a DEEP love and respect for Disney's history and they have enormous pride for the brand and ALL of it's 100 year history. If there is a Heaven and Walt is up there looking down at all of this. I'd be willing to bet that he loves Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Seas more than any other park in the fleet. I know every square inch of the six US parks but I never been to Hong Kong, China or France so maybe I could be wrong. But, so far, in my opinion,...Tokyo smokes the US parks. Yeah,...I'd put OLC in charge of everything and let Burbank have licensing fees and a percentage of the Parks profit that OLC generates. Pro tip: If you have a product, try to put people who LOVE the product in charge of it....instead of having people who don't love the product and just use it for their own, personal purposes. You will get a product that feels MUCH more sincere and genuine to customers that way.