Josh D'Amaro is an American businessman who has served as Chairman of

Disney Experiences 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 the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort. Led ...

since 2020. Prior, D'Amaro was employed with

the Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

for 22 years in roles specialized in the company's resorts sector.

Education and early career

In 1993, D'Amaro graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. He began his career in the finance department of the Gillette Company based in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

before joining

in 1998.

Career in the Walt Disney Company

For the first 10 years of his career at

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, D'Amaro held various leadership positions. From 1998 to 2008 he was vice president of sales and travel trade marketing. During that time he was also director of business planning and strategy development from 2005 to 2006. In 2008, he became

chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

of Disney Consumer Products Licensing business and held the position for two years.

Positions within Disney Parks, Experiences and Products

In 2010, he was promoted to vice president of Adventures by Disney based in Celebration, Florida. This position meant he oversaw all group guided tour operations to various U.S. and international destinations. From 2013 to 2014, D'Amaro served as vice president of Disney's Animal Kingdom. Ultimately, D'Amaro was vice president as the theme park planned its major expansion to include Pandora - The World of Avatar, the joint venture between Disney and

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

and the largest expansion in its history. After the expansion of Disney's Animal Kingdom began construction, in the September 2014, D'Amaro became senior vice president of Resort & Transportation Operations at the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about 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. ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, working in this position until February 2017. From 2017 to 2020, D'Amaro's positions within Parks, Experiences and Products changed quickly. In 2017, he was promoted to CCO of the Walt Disney World Resort, a higher position that he held for a year before taking on the role of president of Disneyland Park in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, another role he held for a year and a half, before returning to Florida to become president of Walt Disney World Resort. In 2020, Bob Chapek succeeded

Bob Iger Robert Alan Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American media executive who is chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company. He previously was the president of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) between 1994 and 1995 and p ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. On May 18, 2020, D'Amaro succeeded Chapek as chairman of

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The chairmanship means D'Amaro is responsible for the management of attractions, cruise ships, merchandise and retail of all six theme parks in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. On September 29, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney was forced to cut 28,000 employees from its theme parks. Despite the phased reopening of many Disney resorts around the world during the summer of 2020, Disneyland Resort in California was unable to reopen its theme parks and furloughed cast members and staff. In the beginning of April 2021, as Covid restrictions were being lifted, D'Amaro had set about reopening certain Disney parks and services to the public. On April 30, 2021, Disney reopened Disneyland Park in Anaheim, which was the final Disney resort to reopen after the initial closure.

Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...

reopened on June 17 after the second closure on October 30, 2020, making it the final Disney parks and resorts to be reopened overall and one of three Disney resorts to close, reopen, and close again due to local government restrictions, the others being Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland.

References

External links

Corporate biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Amaro, Josh Chairmen of The Walt Disney Company Walt Disney Parks and Resorts people McDonough School of Business alumni Procter & Gamble people Year of birth uncertain Living people 1970s births Businesspeople from Los Angeles