Walt Disney Parks and
Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs on Thursday was named chief operating officer of Walt Disney Co.
He assumes the new
role immediately and will continue to lead the company’s Parks and Resorts
division until a successor is named.
Tom Staggs
Disney’s senior
management team, including all business segment leaders, will now report
jointly to Disney CEO Bob Iger and to Staggs, with the exception of the
company’s CFO, general counsel, chief communications officer and chief human
resources officer, who will continue to report directly to Iger.
Staggs has served as
chairman of the Parks and Resorts division since 2010, during which time he has
been overseeing the development of the Shanghai Disney Resort and a new
Avatar-themed land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World in
Florida.
During his tenure, Disney has launched two cruise ships, opened
the Aulani resort in Hawaii, added three lands at Hong Kong Disneyland,
doubled the size of Fantasyland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, and
completed an expansion of the Disneyland Resort with the addition of
Cars Land and Buena Vista Street at Disney’s California Adventure.
Prior to his role as
chairman of Parks and Resorts, Staggs served as Disney’ CFO. He joined Disney in 1990 as manager of strategic planning, and after
advancing through a series of positions of increased responsibility, was
appointed CFO in 1998. Before joining Disney, Staggs worked in investment
banking at Morgan Stanley & Co.