Peter Rummell | |
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Born | October 13, 1945 |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | University of North Carolina Wharton Business School |
Occupation(s) | Former Company President & CEO; Investor |
Spouse | Lee Ann Wilson |
Children | Mahala Hunter (born 1992) Harry Stevenson II (born 1994) |
Peter Stevenson Rummell (born October 13, 1945) is an American real estate entrepreneur, investor and businessman. He has held senior positions at several prominent companies, heading two branches of The Walt Disney Company and serving as CEO of the St. Joe Company. Disney's planned community of Celebration, Florida was his brainchild. He is a founding board member and the primary financial backer of One Spark, a crowdfunding festival in Jacksonville, Florida.
Rummell attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, then completed his undergraduate education in 1967 with an Artium Baccalaureus (AB) degree in English literature with a Chemistry double major from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [1] His first job involved selling laboratory equipment to hospitals, and he realized that he was not a salesman. Friends attending the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania encouraged him to join them, so he enrolled there and received an MBA in 1971. [1] Another friend from Wharton invited him to visit Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he met developer Charles Fraser, who offered Rummell a job. [2]
Rummell began his real estate career with the Sea Pines Company in 1971, where he was involved in the development of resort communities on Hilton Head and Amelia Island, Florida. Beginning in 1977, he was with the Arvida Corporation, where he served as general manager of the Sawgrass development in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. In 1983, he was named vice chairman of Rockefeller Center Management, which markets, leases and manages the 18 buildings in midtown Manhattan that encompass Rockefeller Center in New York City. [3] Rummell left in 1985 to become president of Disney Development Company. At Disney, he helped manage the company's theme park and resort development, including Walt Disney World in Orlando, and was a driving force behind the 5,000-acre, 20,000-person planned community of Celebration, Florida. [4] [5] Rummell pitched the idea to Disney CEO Michael Eisner in 1989 and described his vision of Celebration:
[a] wonderful residential town east of I-4 that has a human scale with sidewalks and bicycles and parks and the kind of architecture that is sophisticated and timeless. It will have fiber optics and smart houses, but the feel will in many cases be closer to Main Street than to Future World. [4]
The division also managed the company's holdings adjacent to theme parks in Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo and Paris.
Rummell was promoted to chairman of Walt Disney Imagineering and remained with the company until 1997, when he was hired by St. Joe Company in Jacksonville, Florida to transform Florida's largest landowner into a major developer. As chairman and CEO, he guided the company to plan and develop 20 major resort and residential communities. [5] He left the company in May 2008 and was briefly president of Nicklaus Companies. [6]
From 2003 to 2006 Rummell served on the board of directors of Progress Energy and Carolina Power & Light; [6] he serves on the board of The Haskell Company. [7] In September 2007, Rummell was named a director of Real estate investment trust AvalonBay Communities due to his extensive experience in real estate development, and is currently a private investor. [8]
Rummell served as co-chairman of Jacksonville's host committee that was successful in their quest to have the city selected for Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. [9]
He was an Urban Land Institute officer and trustee who was also chairman of the ULI Foundation in the 2000s. [5] Rummell was a member of the Jacksonville Non-Group, which evolved into the Jacksonville Civic Council in 2010. He was the first president of the new organization. [10]
He chaired the Florida Council of 100 from 2005 to 2007, [7] a group that advises the governor on issues confronting the state from a business point of view. [6] From 2003 [11] to 2006, Rummell was appointed by governor Jeb Bush as a member of the Florida Board of Governors, which provides policy oversight of the university system for the State of Florida. [6]
In 2013, Rummell became the primary financial backer of One Spark, a five-day crowdfunding festival held in Downtown Jacksonville. [12]
Peter and his wife, Lee Ann, have two children: Mahala Hunter (born 1992) and Harry Stevenson II (born 1994). They reside primarily in Jacksonville, Florida. [1]
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), formerly the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), is the governing jurisdiction and special taxing district for the land of Walt Disney World Resort. It includes 39.06 sq mi (101.2 km2) within Orange and Osceola counties in Florida. It acts with most of the same authority and responsibility as a county government. It includes the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, as well as unincorporated land.
The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers nearly 25,000 acres, of which half has been developed. Walt Disney World contains numerous recreational facilities designed to attract visitors for an extended stay, including four theme parks, two water parks, four golf courses, conference centers, a competitive sports complex and a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. Additionally, there are 19 Disney-owned resort hotels and one camping resort on the property, and many other non-Disney-operated resorts on and near the property.
Celebration is a master-planned community (MPC) and census-designated place (CDP) in Osceola County, Florida, United States. A suburb of Orlando, Celebration is located near Walt Disney World Resort and was originally developed by The Walt Disney Company. Its population was recorded as 11,178 in the 2020 census.
The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, shortened to EPCOT, was an unfinished concept for a planned community, intended to sit on a swath of undeveloped land near Orlando, Florida. It was created 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 Disney Development Company (DDC) was a fully owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, incorporated in Florida. Beginning in 1984, its primary role was in the master planning, design and construction of resort, commercial and business areas within the Walt Disney World Resort, and the development of the planned community, Celebration, Florida.
The Disney Vacation Club (DVC) is a vacation timeshare program owned and operated by Disney Vacation Development, Inc., a subsidiary of Disney Signature Experiences, a division of Disney Experiences, a segment of The Walt Disney Company. It allows buying a real estate interest in a DVC resort via a flexible points-based membership system. There are an estimated 220,000 club members.
Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. The company also operates Disney Live Entertainment and The Muppets Studio and manages Disney's properties, from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to New Amsterdam Theatre and Times Square Studios Ltd. in New York City. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland, it was originally known as Walt Disney, Inc., then WED Enterprises, from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney", the company co-founder's full name. Headquartered in Glendale, California, Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers", who are illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers.
Disney Experiences, commonly known as Disney Parks, is one of the three major divisions of The Walt Disney Company. It was founded on April 1, 1971, exactly six months before the opening of Walt Disney World.
Allen R. "Al" Weiss (1954) is an American businessman who served as President of Worldwide Operations for Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company.
The Walt Disney World Dolphin is a resort hotel located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, and across from its sister resort, the Walt Disney World Swan, both of which are operated by Marriott International. It is one of the few resorts inside Walt Disney World that is not owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. The resorts opened on June 4, 1990, partially in response to a lack of convention center space inside Walt Disney World.
The Walt Disney World Swan is a resort hotel located between Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, and across from its sister resort, the Walt Disney World Dolphin, both of which are operated by Marriott International. It is one of the few resorts inside Walt Disney World that is not owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company. The resorts opened on January 13, 1990, partially in response to a lack of convention center space inside Walt Disney World.
The St. Joe Company is a land development company headquartered in Panama City Beach, Florida. Founded in 1936 and until 1966 known as St. Joe Paper Company, the company still operates a forestry division but is primarily engaged in real estate development and asset management. The company's land holdings are concentrated in Northwest Florida with the vast majority located in Bay and Walton counties. Of the 110,500 acres The St. Joe Company owns that fall within the Bay-Walton Sector Plan, 53,000 acres were placed into conservation by the company. The company develops its land for a variety of uses including residential neighborhoods, hotels, apartment communities, leasable commercial space, office buildings and medical facilities among others.
James Lewis is an American business executive known for his roles at The Walt Disney Company and Walmart. In 2019, he became the president of the 4-R Signature Products and 4-R Foods Divisions at the 4-R Restaurant Group.
Preston Hampton Haskell, III is founder and former chairman of The Haskell Company, the largest privately held construction company in Florida and a top design/build firm in the United States. He was also a minority owner of the National Football League Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2011, he was named a "Florida Icon" by Florida Trend magazine.
Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort is a residential community within the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and is owned and operated by Disney subsidiary, Golden Oak Realty, within Disney Signature Experiences. The first phase of development is located southeast of the Magic Kingdom Park in Bay Lake. The area was named in homage to Walt Disney's Golden Oak Ranch in California. The first few home sites were available for purchase in late 2010 and were completed in late 2011. A Four Seasons resort was opened north of the property with the company purchasing several properties to serve in its "private residences" initiative on the WDW property.
Jacksonville Civic Council (JCC) is a non-partisan group of prominent Jacksonville, Florida business leaders whose goal is to help resolve community issues by studying a problem, proposing one or more solutions, advocating for change, and providing resources and support. The entity is akin to a brain trust or think tank, but with influence and resources available.
Charles Elvan Cobb, Jr. is an American businessman. He is currently the chief executive officer and senior managing director of Cobb Partners, Ltd., an investment firm. He was the chairman and chief executive officer of Arvida Corporation and Disney Development Company during the 1970s and 1980s. Arvida was a public company and then a subsidiary of Penn Central Transportation Company and later of The Walt Disney Company.
Edward E. Burr is the founder, president and chief executive officer of GreenPointe Holdings, LLC, a diversified holding company that brings together the necessary disciplines to create residential and multi-use communities throughout the Southeastern United States.
One Spark was an annual crowdfunding festival held in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida, United States. In the event, creators displayed projects in various categories and crowdfunded from attendees. The event also offered opportunities for private investment in projects, as well as speakers, music, and entertainment. The event launched in 2013.
Josh D'Amaro is an American businessman who has served as Chairman of Disney Experiences since 2022. Prior, D'Amaro was employed with The Walt Disney Company for 22 years in roles specialized in the company's resorts sector.