Edward Arthur Grier (born February 15, 1955) is the dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business. Before coming to VCU, he was an executive at The Walt Disney Company.

Education and early career

He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsb ...

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A

certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

, Grier worked for Ernst & Young.

Career at Disney

Before coming to VCU, Grier spent 29 years with the Walt Disney Company. He joined The Walt Disney Company in 1981 as senior auditor at Walt Disney World in Florida. 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 Epcot, stylized in all uppercase as EPCOT, is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Inspired by an unre ...

and

Disney-MGM Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by Mar ...

theme parks. In the early 1990s, Grier served as a member of an expatriate team that was assigned to

Disneyland Resort Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disneyland Park is the orig ...

in France for one year. While there, Grier was establishing the resort's marketing division and developing Pan-European marketing strategies. Grier served as executive managing director of

Walt Disney Attractions Japan Walt Disney Attractions Japan is a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, one of four sectors of the American entertainment conglomerate The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1982, a year before the opening of the Toky ...

, where he supervised Disney operations for the

Tokyo Disney Resort The (local nickname ''TDR'') is a theme park and vacation resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just east of Tokyo. The resort is fully owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company under a licence from The Walt Disney Company, who cons ...

and the day-to-day relationship with the

Oriental Land Company is a Japanese leisure and tourism corporation headquartered in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan where it also owns and operates the Tokyo Disney Resort. The company operates in three segments, divided as theme parks, hotels, and other business. Oriental ...

, which owns the property. Grier joined Disneyland Resort in July 2006 (replacing

Matt Ouimet Matt Ouimet is executive chairman of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, a publicly traded company that owns 12 amusement parks in the United States and Canada. Early life Born in 1958 in Cooperstown, New York and raised in Unadilla NY. His first ...

). He reported to

Al Weiss 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. Career at The Walt Disney Company Weiss began his Disney ...

, president of operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. As president of

Disneyland Resort 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 ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

properties under his purview included:

Disneyland 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 envision ...

and

Disney California Adventure Park Disney California Adventure Park, commonly referred to as California Adventure or by its acronym DCA, is a theme park located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Park ...

theme parks, the Disneyland Hotel,

Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa (also known as the Grand Californian) is a hotel located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The hotel was constructed as part of a major expansion of the Disneyland Resort in 2001. It was c ...

Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel 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 (Di ...

, and the

Downtown Disney Downtown Disney (officially the Downtown Disney District) is an outdoor shopping center located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It opened on January 12, 2001; a component of the Disneyland Resort expansion project alongside the ...

retail, dining and entertainment district. Grier announced his retirement from the company on October 5, 2009.

Career at VCU Business School

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.". He would serve in that role until the hiring of the new vice president, which was expected in the Summer of 2017. On April 6th, 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.

References

External links

Walt Disney Company profile of Ed Grier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grier, Ed Disneyland Resort Living people Duquesne University alumni Walt Disney Parks and Resorts people Disney executives 1955 births Ernst & Young people