Originally Posted By goofy47 I'm sure Disney and the Imagineering Division will misshim.. I'm sure he will make a great recruiter and ambassador!!! LOS ANGELES, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Martin Sklar, the creative force behind most of Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) theme parks, will step down as head of the company's famed Imagineering division, Disney said on Friday. Sklar, 72, takes on a new role as a recruiter and ambassador for the division where he worked for 50 years and was regarded as a legend. The change at the top of Imagineering comes as Pixar Animation Studios Inc. (PIXR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) creative director, John Lasseter, steps into a more formal advisory role there when Disney's expected acquisition of Pixar is completed this summer. Lasseter, whose talents as an animator and storyteller have been compared with Walt Disney's, will not replace Sklar, but will advise the division on how best to integrate animated characters into Disney rides, shows and products, Disney spokeswoman Marilyn Waters said. Disney is conducting a nationwide search for a creative executive to head Imagineering, which designs rides and other attractions for the company's cruise line, hotels and theme parks around the world, Waters said. Sklar, 72, serves as vice chairman and principal creative executive of Walt Disney Imagineering and is the division's last link to founder Walt Disney. He began work at Disney in 1956 and had planned to change his role at Disney after celebrating his 50th anniversary at the company in June, Waters said. In an internal memo, Sklar said that as Imagineering Ambassador for the Disney Parks and Resorts, he will help recruit new talent from universities and within Disney, develop traveling exhibitions and speak at conferences about the vaunted creative team. Sklar lauded the arrival of Lasseter whom he said would "contribute to the 'no fear' approach" fostered at Imagineering. The Imagineers began as a creative team of set designers, directors, animators and others who were handpicked by Walt Disney to plan the theme park that became Disneyland. Sklar, who started at Disneyland as a publicist and acted as the Disney founder's personal scribe until his death in 1966, became president of Imagineering in 1987.
