Ed Grier | |
|---|---|
 Grier at a walk-a-thon for CHOC | |
| Born | February 15, 1955 [1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | BA |
| Alma mater | Duquesne University |
| Occupation(s) | Dean, Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business |
Edward Arthur Grier (born February 15, 1955) is the dean of the Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business. Before coming to SCU, he was the dean at VCU, and before that he was an executive at The Walt Disney Company.
He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A certified public accountant, Grier worked for Ernst & Young.
Before transitioning to higher ed, Grier spent 29 years with the Walt Disney Company. [2] He joined The Walt Disney Company in 1981 as senior auditor at Walt Disney World in Florida. [3]
Grier held executive positions at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and At the Florida resort, he served as general manager for the operation lines of business at the Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios theme parks.
In the early 1990s, Grier served as a member of an expatriate team that was assigned to Disneyland Resort Paris in France for one year. While there, Grier was establishing the resort's marketing division and developing Pan-European marketing strategies. [4]
Grier served as executive managing director of Walt Disney Attractions Japan, where he supervised Disney operations for the Tokyo Disney Resort and the day-to-day relationship with the Oriental Land Company, which owns the property.
Grier joined Disneyland Resort in July 2006 (replacing Matt Ouimet). He reported to Al Weiss, president of operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. As president of Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, properties under his purview included: Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park theme parks, the Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, and the Downtown Disney retail, dining and entertainment district.
Grier announced his retirement from the company on October 5, 2009. [5]
Grier was named dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business on February 8, 2010. On May 2, 2017, he took on an interim role as university’s "vice president for development and alumni relations.". [6] He would serve in that role until the hiring of the new vice president, which was expected in the Summer of 2017.
On April 6, 2021, Grier announced that he would be leaving VCU in June of 2021 to become the new dean of the business school at Santa Clara University.
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers nearly 25,000 acres, of which half has been used. The resort comprises four theme parks, two water parks, 31 themed resort hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, several golf courses, a camping resort, and other entertainment venues, including the outdoor shopping center Disney Springs. On October 1, 2021, Walt Disney World started its celebration of its 50-year anniversary which lasted for 18 consecutive months ending on March 31, 2023.
The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, shortened to EPCOT or E.P.C.O.T., is an unfinished concept for a planned community, intended to sit on a massive swath of undeveloped land near Orlando, Florida, that was developed by Walt Disney in collaboration with the designers at Walt Disney Imagineering in the 1960s. Based on ideas stemming from modernism and futurism, and inspired by architectural literature about city planning, Disney intended EPCOT to be a utopian autocratic company town. One of the primary stated aims of EPCOT was to replace urban sprawl as the organizing force of community planning in the United States in the 1960s. Disney intended EPCOT to be a real city, and it was planned to feature commercial, residential, industrial and recreational centers, connected by a mass multimodal transportation system, that would, he said, "Never cease to be a living blueprint of the future."
The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels, and a shopping, dining, and entertainment district known as Downtown Disney.
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Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's three major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on April 1, 1971, exactly six months before the opening of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, just outside of Orlando.
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The Happiest Homecoming on Earth was the eighteen-month-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Disneyland theme park, which opened on July 17, 1955. The Happiest Celebration on Earth commemorated fifty years of Disney theme parks, and celebrated Disneyland's milestone throughout Disney parks all over the globe.
Martin A. "Marty" Sklar was a scriptwriter and construction developer. He was The Walt Disney Company's international ambassador for Walt Disney Imagineering, the subsidiary of the company which designs and constructs Disney theme parks and resorts across the world. He was formerly vice president of Concepts and Planning for the company, before being promoted to president, then vice chairman and principal creative executive before his final role. Disney honored him with a Disneyland window dedication ceremony on his date of retirement, July 17, 2009.
James A. "Jay" Rasulo was the Senior Executive VP and CFO of The Walt Disney Company. On June 30, 2015, Christine McCarthy was announced as his successor. Prior to being appointed CFO, he was chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts from October 2005 until December 2009 when he switched positions with Thomas O. Staggs. He was made the president of the theme park division in September 2002, replacing Paul Pressler.
WestCOT was a planned second theme park for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was essentially a replica of EPCOT Center at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and was dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely technological innovation and international culture. The park was represented by SpaceStation Earth, a larger version of the geodesic sphere Spaceship Earth featured at EPCOT Center.
Jack Lindquist was an American business executive who served as president of the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California from 1990 until he retired in 1993. He was a Disney employee from 1955 until his retirement, and was a marketing executive in the theme parks division for almost thirty years, including a stint as the first advertising manager for Disneyland. His eventual reach would extend worldwide, having trained and/or greatly influenced others who would become amusement industry leaders, both inside and outside of the Disney attractions. Among the amusement industry, many have credited Lindquist with founding and greatly expanding the arts and sciences of attraction promotion.
Ronald Logan was an American businessman who served as executive vice president of Walt Disney Entertainment. After retiring from the company in 2001, he was formally a professor at the University of Central Florida Rosen College of Hospitality Management in Orlando, Florida, United States.
Joseph Rohde is the Experience Architect for Virgin Galactic. Rohde was previously a veteran executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, the division of The Walt Disney Company that designs and builds Disney's theme parks and resort hotels. Rohde's formal title was Executive Designer and Vice President, Creative.
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Meg Gilbert Crofton is an American businesswoman, who served as president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts in the United States and France. She was named to the position on August 7, 2006, replacing Al Weiss, who had been promoted to president of worldwide operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in November 2005.
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisioned building a tourist attraction adjacent to his studios in Burbank to entertain fans who wished to visit; however, he soon realized that the proposed site was too small for the ideas that he had. After hiring the Stanford Research Institute to perform a feasibility study determining an appropriate site for his project, Disney bought a 160-acre (65 ha) site near Anaheim in 1953. The park was designed by a creative team hand-picked by Walt from internal and outside talent. They founded WED Enterprises, the precursor to today's Walt Disney Imagineering. Construction began in 1954 and the park was unveiled during a special televised press event on the ABC Television Network on July 17, 1955. Since its opening, Disneyland has undergone expansions and major renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country in 1972, Mickey's Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in 2019. Additionally, Disney California Adventure Park opened in 2001 on the site of Disneyland's original parking lot.
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Before coming to VCU, Grier spent 29 years with the Walt Disney Company.
Disneyland Resort: Started in July 2006. Led 506-acre resort including Disneyland, Disney's California Adventure, Downtown Disney and three hotels Walt Disney Co. career: Began as senior auditor at Walt Disney World in Florida in 1981. Served in other executive positions at Walt Disney World, including Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios, and Disneyland Resort Paris. Worked as executive managing director of Walt Disney Attractions Japan before move to Disneyland Resort
In the early 1990s, Grier served as a member of an expatriate team that was assigned to Paris for one year to increase awareness of the resort in European markets. While there, Grier was responsible for establishing the resort's marketing division and developing Pan-European marketing strategies.
Grier, 51, will report to Al Weiss, President of Operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. He replaces Matt Ouimet,
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