George Kalogridis (pictured), a 38-year Disney veteran, has been named president of Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California. For the past three years he served as the chief operating officer for Disneyland Paris.
For Kalogridis the new role marks a return to Anaheim, where he served as senior vice-president of resort operations from 2000 to 2002, overseeing the opening of Disney’s California Adventure and Downtown Disney.
Kalogridis began his career as a busboy in 1971 when the Contemporary Resort opened at Florida’s Walt Disney World, and has held numerous executive positions throughout Disney Parks and Resorts. He has, for example, served as vice-president of Epcot at Walt Disney World, as well as leading the Millennium Celebration for The Walt Disney Company.
Kalogridis has also served as vice-president of travel operations at Walt Disney World, where he implemented a new customer relationship management system that continues to serve as the foundation for howguests book their travel to the Florida resort.
As president of Disneyland Resort, he will now oversee a workforce of 20,000 and report to Al Weiss, president of worldwide operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Kalogridis replaces Ed Grier, who has retired from the company after 28 years.
