It has been two months now that George A. Kalogridis, a veteran of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, was named the fifth president of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. George, grandson of Greek immigrants from the sponge-fishing island of Kalymnos, graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelors Degree in Sociology.
Kalogridis carries more than 40 years of experience at Disney parks in a number of positions around the world. Since 2009, George has served as president of the Disneyland Resort, which comprises the world-famous Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park, the Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the Paradise Pier Hotel and Downtown Disney.
He said that he can’t help looking at the small stuff because it’s what he has been doing since he started working at Disney in 1971, as a busboy at the Contemporary Resort.
From 2006 until his appointment to Disneyland Resort, George served as chief operating officer for Disneyland Resort Paris, responsible for leading the daily operations of both theme parks of the Resort, seven hotels as well as the Disney Village.
Recently, as president of the Disneyland Resort, he oversaw a multi-billion dollar project, one of the most extensive expansions in the resort’s history, including the successful transformation of Disney California Adventure.
Kalogridis in his interview with Orlando Sentinel newspaper, was quoted “Everyone has their own unique style of leadership, but I think we have a common vision as a team and having that as indicator, we operate our parks worldwide,” adding that it is important for the team to adapt to the fickle business world.
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