George Anthony Kalogridis (born November 19, 1953) is an American corporate executive. Kalogridis is the former president of the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida Lake Buena Vista () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World—although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located i ...

. Kalogridis became president of Disney Segment Development and Enrichment for

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products 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 five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apri ...

in November 2019.

Early life and education

Kalogridis was raised in Winter Haven, and is of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

ancestry; the Greek spelling of his name is Γιώργος Καλογρίδης. He attended the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

and graduated with a degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

in 1976.

Career

Be Our Guest Window (51490112911) (cropped)

Kalogridis has a long history with

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. He has worked with the company almost exclusively for 40 years. Kalogridis first started working for Disney while he was in college. He bussed tables at

Disney's Contemporary Resort Disney's Contemporary Resort, originally to be named Tempo Bay Hotel and previously the Contemporary Resort Hotel, is a resort located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. Opened on October 1, 1971, the hotel is one of two or ...

when the Walt Disney World Resort first opened in 1971. Kalogridis quickly moved up the ladder in

, becoming vice president of operations at

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 unreal ...

, senior vice president at the Disneyland Resort from 2000 to 2002, vice president at the Disney Reservation Center in Orlando from 2002 to 2006,

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

(COO) at

Disneyland 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 origin ...

from 2006 to 2009, and president of the Disneyland Resort from 2009 to 2013. Kalogridis was named president of The Walt Disney World Resort on January 9, 2013. In 2019, he was promoted to president, Disney Segment Development and Enrichment. In this new position, he is responsible for developing strategic and operational business initiatives while developing and scaling best practices across sites and lines of business. He also leads the Disney Institute, and serves as strategic advisor to park operators. In September of 2021, Kalogridis was honored with a window on

Main Street, U.S.A. Main Street, U.S.A. is the first "themed land" inside the main entrance of the many theme parks operated or licensed by The Walt Disney Company around the world. Main Street, U.S.A. is themed to resemble American small towns during the early 20t ...

at the Magic Kingdom, one of the top honors for Disney Parks cast members.

Reception

In 1999, a customer wrote a letter to Kalogridis, then vice president of

, voicing his dissatisfaction with a rehab of a ride. Kalogridis personally called him at home. "I was floored," the customer said. "He must have been hearing from hundreds of people. For him to make the rounds, I was really impressed by that." While working as the manager of

Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is a Victorian themed hotel and spa located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The property opened on June 28, 1988, as the ''Grand Floridian Beach Resort''. The name changed to ''Disney's Grand F ...

, a hostess stated that she wished that the grass was dry, since the hotel was going to host a convention on the lawn soon. Kalogridis took some employees and towels with him and dried the lawn off with towels. "That’s the attention to detail – and how he’ll do everything possible for guests – that George is famous for,"

Meg Crofton Meg Gilbert Crofton (born Mary Elizabeth Gilbert in 1953) 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, w ...

, then president of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, said.Tully, Sarah
"New Disneyland Resort president gives inside look"
, ''

The Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'', 15 March 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2012.

Personal life

Kalogridis lives with his partner Andy Hardy who also works at Disney. His favorite character is

Eeyore Eeyore ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' books by A. A. Milne. He is generally characterized as a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-P ...

, and his favorite movie is ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalogridis, George A. 1950s births Living people American chief operating officers American people of Greek descent American LGBT businesspeople Place of birth missing (living people) Walt Disney Parks and Resorts people Disney executives University of Central Florida alumni