Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I have to admit to be shocked at two things: that George K is finally being given a No. 1 role (and at age 55) at Walt's park ... and that Leemac didn't know Michael O'Grattan was moved up the food chain months ago. If I had only known this when I saw him dining at Walt's a few weeks ago then I would have wished him well ... George has his good points, no doubt. So, I'll cover them first. He has a long history with the company. He's had a lot of different roles. He does understand what the Disney product is supposed to be and he does care ... to some degree. He's very good at making the bottom line sparkle and shine. He also is an openly gay man (who got his partner a job at Disney in his first stint at DLR), which Disney seems to be playing up in the media. Oh, and you wouldn't have pintrading and the absurd tacky mania it brought about if not for George and so many fans love that! With all that said, this IS the man who was a complete and utter disaster as the No. 2 of the resort for 18 months under Cynthia. He was not liked by the cast as he had a fundamental problem with the concept that DLR was not WDW and that the Florida model couldn't simply be slapped on Anaheim. This is the guy who tried E-Ticket nights in Anaheim for example. George was infamous for his quote (paging Darkbeer to the thread!) to the LA Times arrogantly (and to be fair, it wasn't only George who felt this way, he was just stupid enough to be quoted saying so) talking about DCA filling up daily and guests having to walk across the esplanade and settling for DL. George was also the guy who was fired by Cynthia just prior to the one-year anniversary of DCA. Indeed, he was ordered NOT to show up on the 2/8/02 announcement for ToT and Bug's Land. If not for the fact he had a strong network of pals in the Florida 'boys club' to create a job for him, he might have been out of the company at that point for good. But the FLA DD VP position was opened quickly to fascilitate George moving back to FLA (he is a native of the area). And after being in that position for mere months, he was sent off to run the call centers off-property. That position allowed George to grab hold of the Destination Disney datamining of guests (everything from Pal Mickey to Magic Your Way tix to the DDP to DME came out of that) initiative make himself look very good to Jay and Al and 'earn' his promotion to Paris. Again, much like when he took advantage of the Milennium Celebration as Epcot VP (a position he held from 1995-2000) to make himself look good, he had done likewise at the Travel Company. I don't see any upside to this. Except maybe the hopeful eventuality that he'll be out of the company within three years (God help the Chinese if they're using this to springboard him on Shanghai)... and I know he and Andy enjoy the Newport Beach/Laguna Niguel nose to the air lifestyle. Warm and fuzzy wouldn't be two words used to describe the dude. Capable? If he (and more importantly, Jay and Al) wants to be, sure. But I just can't help but thinking how out of touch with reality and how truly lost the man was in his 18-month stint in 2000-02 there. How should that qualify him to lord over Walt's park and the expansion is beyond me ... and it showcases everything that is wrong with Disney P&R and corporate America these days. Recycling is great when you're talking about magazines and cans ... not so much when you're talking baseball managers or Disney execs. What are they thinking?
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<George is regarded as a decent Ops guy - the problem is that DLR already has a great Ops guy in Michael O'Grattan. I'm surprised to see him passed over for the promotion but equally not surprised to see Special K being elevated again as he is a Jay henchman. Arguably that completes the set as Jay has now replaced every single key executive in his tensure with one of his buddies. I almost spat out my coffee when I read the snippet in Post 7 - the notion that Special K had anything to do with the DLR expansion is laughable. He was in place for literally months prior to the opening of the Grand CA - no time at all to have any influence except over the message of the Opening Day (Special K can happily claim title to Scaremonger when he reinforced DLR's view that DCA would be more popular than DL). In light of the fact that all of the key expansion decisions have already been determined for DLR I'm just hoping Special K needs to maintain the status quo before his next promotion. If he is involved in the third park negotiations then God help DLR.>> Lee, you know these people and personalities better than 99% of the people in fanland. So, what's the rationale behind irrational moves like this? Is this all about Jay digging in his heels and keeping his position at all costs? Is this some quid pro quo behind the scenes? I don't get it. There are some folks at Disney (and plenty outside) that would be far better suited to this job. By the same token, it'll be interesting to see George in a pressure-filled environment with everyone from the fanbois to a real media presence to John Lasseter to Al Lutz watching his every move.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<leemac, Michael O'Grattan is not the SVP of Ops any more. That role for him lasted less than a year, and during the big reorg last winter Michael was moved over to the SVP of Entertainment, with responsibility for major entertainment at all the parks globally. He is no longer focused just on Anaheim. There is currently a Disneyland President, and then a Vice President of Disneyland (Big Jon Storbeck - The Coolest Operator In The World), DCA (Mary Niven), and the Hotels and DTD (Tony Bruno). Those three VP's report directly to the DLR President, with no SVP in between them. >> I'll just add that both Mary and Tony were part of the TDA powers when George had his first stint there. Tony is pretty highly regarded, although it is also a bit telling that he hasn't moved up the ranks. And Mary somehow managed to last despite being a disaster in Food and Beverage and is indeed now the first VP in DCA's illustrious history! ;-)
Originally Posted By birdsNworms George Kalogridis is a solid lieutenant. He is the man you can count on to execute orders without questioning his senior officer. What is most remarkable about Mr. Kalogridis' tenure at TWDC is that it is so...unremarkable. From an organizational standpoint, it makes sense to have someone like him around -- as a second in command. That is, after all, what lieutenants do. They take orders, they execute the decisions of others. The decision to bring him over, a position he lobbied for (his companion was a longtime SoCal resident, as opposed to the Florida born and raised GK, who was not keen on leaving first for a stint in Orlando and then off to Paris), serves only to lift his career to its pinnacle. He will retire from TWDC once the DCA redo is completed. His commitment from P&R expressly limits the role they have for him there. No one in Anaheim or Burbank or Glendale forgot the disaster he was at the DLR. And now, he is reunited with former cafeteria manager Mary Niven (the former food services director at UCLA) who -- as testament to the need for a deeper talent pool in P&R -- somehow became the head of DCA. They will be the placeholders to carry out already laid plans and, once completed, will exit with much, if faux, praise from above. There needs to be no worry that GK will use this 'opportunity' to land the Shanghai project or a position anywhere near TWDC's Far East strategy. He foreclosed on that with an over-reach for HKDL and DLP's repeated failures in understanding and cultivating the PRC's govbiz structure during the many visits the Paris property hosted. Fear not, this is reinforcing the centralization of Jay Rasulo's vice-grip on P&R by stacking the division with number ones in title only. Again, the man is a solid number two. So the DLR will move forward on auto-pilot as pitched, plotted, and planned by others within. As for his companion's role at Disney, AH was not considered a good fit during GK's first go-around. Meaning, there's no chance the accountant [AH] will join the infamous bookmaker [GK] of P&R.
Originally Posted By birdsNworms Oh, and just for clarification, Michael Eisner saw GK as something akin to the manager of a local grocery store. Except, Eisner almost certainly held his neighborhood Bristol Farms manager in higher regard. Not only did the former Disney head have little regard for GK, he detested the man. Thought he was...I'm not sure if there is a polite way of saying this...dim.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA ^^^All those SoCal cities seem to think they're more bitchin' than the rest of us. Laguna Beach, San Juan Capistrano, Escondido...
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt I've read post #24 three times now and I still don't know what it means. P&R, AH, TWDC...?
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Al Lutz weighs in on George Kalogridis: <a href="http://miceage.micechat.com/allutz/al101309a.htm" target="_blank">http://miceage.micechat.com/al...309a.htm</a>
Originally Posted By hopemax P&R = Parks & Resorts TWDC = The Walt Disney Company AH, in context looks like a person's initials, but I don't know who it refers too
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Al sure seems to like this guy, but from my sideline observations through the years, I think the general sentiments from this thread are more accurate...
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Yeah, the viewpoints on this guy in fanland are varied to say the least.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Leemac didn't know Michael O'Grattan was moved up the food chain months ago.>> Sorry I now realize that I should post when jet-lagged. I did know that MOG was moved on - my point was that he would have been a perfect Prez. The problem is that he isn't a JR henchman.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Lee, you know these people and personalities better than 99% of the people in fanland. So, what's the rationale behind irrational moves like this? Is this all about Jay digging in his heels and keeping his position at all costs? Is this some quid pro quo behind the scenes? I don't get it. There are some folks at Disney (and plenty outside) that would be far better suited to this job.>> I'd hope I know the personalities better than all fanbois. It is about Jay becoming entrenched. There is little doubt that Jay's job isn't on the line - he is regarded as a good manager of WDP&R. My concern is that he continues to surround himself by folks that just aren't in the right positions. They are just the right people in Jay's view. He has now appointed every single member of the executive committee that runs WDP&R. You have Al in a role that serves no purpose - Worldwide Ops (nothing like a homoegeneous product), Special K at DLR, Philippe at DLRP (who comes from an HR background), Karl running New Ops into the ground (DCL and the new outside-the-berm projects) and Bill in Asia (another solid guy without being exceptional). Neither Judson nor Paul felt it appropriate to surround them with "yes men". For the most part it was about hiring the right people for the right roles. Sadly we don't have that at either WDP&R or WDI any more.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Tony is pretty highly regarded, although it is also a bit telling that he hasn't moved up the ranks.>> Tony is VERY highly regarded - he is a wonderful hotel executive.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Al sure seems to like this guy, but from my sideline observations through the years, I think the general sentiments from this thread are more accurate...>> I admit, I almost did a ROFLMAO when I was reading Al's column with my tripleshot of Starbucks this a.m. ... George was actively looking for answers in neutralizing Al and his former site (this was before he formed Miceage) during his prior stint at TDA. I'm not saying George is a bad guy, but I have no explanation why this job was handed to him (of course, I could say the same thing about almost everyone who's held the position) ... well, none other than Jay's MINE-MINE-MINE desire to ensure his own ass and put a stranglehold on the execs worldwide ... a la a mafia don. Jay now has 'his people' in every high level position at every Disney resort around the world. That tells me he and The Weatherman don't plan on any major changes in the way Disney runs its parks and resorts business. Still, I wish George nothing but the best because if he fails, he takes DLR along for the ride. Maybe in his old age, he'll be more willing to stand up to Jay ... who knows? As this hire proves, anything's possible! ;-)
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<It is about Jay becoming entrenched.>> Yep. That's exactly what I thought, but I appreciate your take. <<There is little doubt that Jay's job isn't on the line - he is regarded as a good manager of WDP&R. My concern is that he continues to surround himself by folks that just aren't in the right positions. They are just the right people in Jay's view. >> That's how you create a powerbase. It will be very tough for Jay to lose his position. He has come thru the WDW monorail tragedy unscathed, even if his business ops playbook led to a death. My concern is the Weatherman apparently only cares about the bottom line, more his than TWDC and he seems enchanted by Jay's salesmanship. <<He has now appointed every single member of the executive committee that runs WDP&R. You have Al in a role that serves no purpose - Worldwide Ops (nothing like a homoegeneous product), Special K at DLR, Philippe at DLRP (who comes from an HR background), Karl running New Ops into the ground (DCL and the new outside-the-berm projects) and Bill in Asia (another solid guy without being exceptional).>> There isn't anyone in the above group I'd list as even above average in the exec dept. But they all will do whatever Jay asks. That's why he is the problem. And, as I don't have to remind you, that's what I've been saying since he took over the position. Jay's only passion is for power and money. He is about as magical as a hangnail. How someone like that runs Disney's theme park empire is yet another indictment of American corporate business in the 21st century. <<Neither Judson nor Paul felt it appropriate to surround them with "yes men". For the most part it was about hiring the right people for the right roles. Sadly we don't have that at either WDP&R or WDI any more. >> Cheer up, Lee. One thing I've learned is TWDC keeps on going ... it outlasts and outlives any and all execs. The creative base is solid. And the legacy is an amazing creative bedrock that can't be touched by folks like Jay Rasulo. A decade from now he'll be a bad memory for some people who worked for/with him and some of us fans. Nothing more. But Disney will still be ticking.
Originally Posted By oc_dean >>Since when did Laguna Niguel become a "nose in the air" city???? << I guess only us OC natives will know Newport Beach, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Beach .......... only the most posh towns in all of Orange County! Thanks Spirit for your very informative posts. First openly gay DLR president - that one is an eye-opening piece of information. Not that it has any bearing on his ability .. Just an interesting factoid.
Originally Posted By birdsNworms GK was selected for the role at DLP not based on performance or any sense of confidence in his abilities to stop the spiraling of that resort. Burbank wanted, needed, a company-man in Marne-la-Vallee to help quell the rampant paranoia that riddled, at times has paralyzed, Bob Iger and had/has infected the highest ranks of TWDC. P&R was and is no exception. His years at Disney cemented the company-man part of the equation and his fluency in French and network of hospitality industry types made him an obvious and easy fill-in. Although TWDC fails to account for this void in his touted 38 year tenure with the company, he also spent several years as a student in Switzerland honing his busing skills. A quick allusion to the backstory it seems all media execs feel a need to have written for them, to those months he spent as a teen clearing tables at the Contemporary in contrast to his very upper middle class upbringing as "the town pharmacist's son." In 1971, to work at WDW in any capacity was seen as quite a privilege. And no location was more prestigious than the Contemporary. As for the comment regarding GK's catastrophic tenure at TDA during the spectacular failure-to-launch of DCA and his active soliciting of ideas as to how to deal with "the Al problem" posted elsewhere, it is well-known within P&R that he worked the online crowd to control the message and blunt criticism. (He is notoriously thin-skinned.) Specifically, GK personally courted 'the Al problem' going as far as inviting him to various social as well as media events well before TWDC abandoned much of the mainstream media in favor of online content providers and fan sites. Back in 2001, GK wanted nothing more than to short-circuit his online critics. When he realized that was not going to happen, he turned to the trusty old saying 'keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer.' That is almost certainly why the once-termed "problem" is now gushing over the greatest failure in DL's history making a second go round.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>(He is notoriously thin-skinned.)<< I give him 3 months. Unless they cut off his internet access.
