walt disney imaginingbrings back veterans to co-lead the department in workshops that create all the cool things to experience at Disney Parks. Bruce Vaughn previously worked at WDI, where he was for 22 years, and the VR experience company Dreamscape before joining Airbnb.
Vaughn will serve as WDI’s chief creative officer and co-leader. This news is likely to send shockwave levels (in a good way) among Imagineers of the present and past, as well as those of us who follow Parks and those who created them.
Vaughn has been with Airbnb for a year and a half, leading the Experimental Creative Product team. He was hired to develop a more “immersive” experience at Airbnb. Former Disney Parks executive Katherine Powell also hired Going beyond lodging reservations, it helps build excursion packages for Airbnb guests.
Previously, Vaughn co-led WDI as Chief Creative Officer for nine years, working early in his career on company-wide projects such as the refurbishment of EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth.
“I have always been an Imagineer at heart, so I am thrilled to join Barbara and reunite with our incredible global team of creators and innovators at this pivotal time,” Vaughn said in a statement. .
Bruce Vaughan, Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney Imagineering
Imagineering is a unique organization that works very differently. Leaders within the sector pool resources across groups of people who blend art, engineering, organization, supply chains, and storytelling into the environmental work that millions of people live with each year. Our internal processes for creating and sustaining a unique stream of ideas balance financial limits, individuality, and revenue goals against much more nebulous issues of art and emotion.
A start-up company born in 1952, it maintains a sense that the projects it builds are organically formed out of chaos. It’s a rare environment that attracts really talented people, but it’s rapidly losing talent.
WDI has undergone a major transformation in the last few years under the company’s former CEO, Bob Chapek.A long-time Imagineer who led huge projects and possessed an enormous amount of institutional knowledge Joe LordJon Snoddy, Former Co-President of Imagineering bob white Everything moved recently with a string of departures surrounding Disney’s stop-start Relocation of WDI to Florida.
An effective leader in that organization must understand them and understand how to balance them. Weis was co-president with her Barbara Bouza, project executive in 2021. Bouza is currently the sole president, but she will co-lead Imagineering alongside Vaughn in her CCO role. Both will report directly to Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks. Officially joined on March 20th.
“We have so many exciting projects underway and great opportunities ahead, and we look forward to partnering with Bruce to inspire creativity and deliver next-level experiences,” Booza said in a statement. says.
Disney is betting here that a veteran and respected leader who previously worked as a co-leader will offset the recent brain drain and lost history. While it would be easy to view every move that has been made as a “fix the problem”, the move is a maintenance and retention operation that offsets Weis’ resignation and pairs Bouza with a leader of (nearly) equal experience. It looks like for WDI.
D’Amaro also sent an internal note to Imagineers today.
Date: March 7, 2023
TO: DPEP Officers, all WDI
FROM: Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
Subject: WDI Organization Announcement: Welcome Back Bruce VaughanAs Bob Iger often says, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do.
Disney. In fact, looking back at his 100-year history of charm and charm in our company,
Memorable storytelling to life, the consistent thread that binds us together as a company
Across all segments, our ability to drive innovation through creative projects is key.Disney parks, experiences and products continue to invest in new initiatives.
Deliver the most engaging experiences and keep guests occupied around the world
The stories they love most.Over the past few years we have
Waves of new technology and intersections of seemingly endless new technologies
Stories and franchises allow us to develop groundbreaking new experiences.of
Of course, none of this is possible without a strong commitment to creativity and creativity.
Innovation from the amazing team at Walt Disney Imagineering.With this in mind, on March 20th Bruce Vaughan
Returned to Walt Disney Imagineering as Chief Creative Officer.Bruce co-leads
WDI President Barbara Bouza belongs to, and the two leaders report
directly to me.Together, Bruce and Barbara work closely together to connect visionary creative thinking
With project opportunities and flawless execution and delivery.important
Ongoing developments and further developments on the horizon, this dedicated focus
Creativity and innovation help us deliver next-level experiences well into the future.
To best achieve this, they work together to quickly identify the most critical issues.
An effective way to build your imagination.Many of you have had the opportunity to work with Bruce before.
Over 20 years in leadership roles at Imagineering
Co-lead the entire WDI organization as Chief Executive Officer, including WDI R&D
9 years as creative executive. Bruce left Disney in 2016 to become CEO and his CCO.
As part of Dreamscape Immersive, he worked with the team to advance virtual reality.
technology for mainstream location-based entertainment, and more recently
At Airbnb, he developed and led the Experiential Creative Product team.Please welcome Bruce back to Disney.
