Joined: Nov 10, 2005 Posts: 3811 Location: Orlando, FL
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 7:54 am Post subject: Rasulo and Staggs to switch jobs in 2010 ÂşoÂş
I think this is very positive news, especially for the parks...
Two of Disney’s top executives are switching jobs – a shift that Robert A. Iger, the company’s chief executive, said in an interview had been in the works since last summer.
In an unusual crosspollination effort, at least for Disney, James A. Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, will become chief financial officer at the end of the year. Thomas O. Staggs, who has served as the financial chief, will take the top job at the $12 billion theme park division.
“I sat with each of them separately and told them my idea – it raised their eyebrows initially because it took them out of their comfort zone,” Mr. Iger said. “But they quickly became excited and realized the opportunity.” He added, “I’m looking to do more of this in the years ahead.”
Why switch those particular roles? “I looked at my entire management team and saw two executives with considerable talent and experience who had been in their respective jobs for quite a long time. I think it’s a smart way to motivate them and better prepare them for the future.”
Mr. Staggs, a 19-year veteran of the company, has served as chief financial officer since 1998; Mr. Rasulo, a 23-year Disney veteran, has held the top parks job since 2002 and previously spent years improving Disneyland Paris. (Mr. Rasulo has more than ample financial chops: he has a master’s degree in economics and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.)
Mr. Iger said he delayed putting the changes into effect because he didn’t want to rock the boat as the economy faltered.
But all of that talk is premature: Mr. Iger, 58, has no plans to go anywhere. Moreover, he has no plans to do so much as name a chief operating officer. (Filling that job would be Disney’s equivalent of naming an heir apparent.)
Instead, the swap is more about changing Disney’s traditional silo approach to management. Mr. Iger wants to deepen the experience of his bench, much like General Electric has famously done, by giving executives on-the-ground training in other parts of the far-flung Disney empire.
The appointment last month of Rich Ross as chairman of Walt Disney Studios – Mr. Ross’s experience is entirely in television, most recently at Disney Channel – was the first major indication of Mr. Iger’s new strategy. But he has been quietly pursuing the strategy for some time, dispatching an executive in charge of operations in Latin America, for instance, to run Europe.
Disney had planned to make the announcement in conjunction with its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, set for release Thursday after the market close, but scrapped that plan after Deadline.com broke the news.
In a statement, Mr. Staggs called the opportunity “tremendously exciting and a challenge I’m really looking forward to.” Mr. Rasulo said he looked forward to “working with Bob to advance Disney’s growth strategy, while continue to strengthen our balance sheet.” _________________ John
Joined: Mar 09, 2006 Posts: 809 Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:25 am Post subject:
Hah, that's funny, it's gone now due to reader objections. It was a post about the two witches from The Wizard of Oz and mentioned that you've done away with the one sort of bad witch, but you're left with the other one who's even worse.
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