The Walt Disney Co. has found the next chief executive for its lucrative and important experiences division.
The company says that Thomas Mazloum, currently president of the Disneyland Resort, will become chairman of Disney Experiences. He succeeds Josh D’Amaro, who will take over as Disney’s CEO next week in connection with the company’s annual meeting.
“Thomas Mazloum is an exceptional leader with a genuine appreciation for our cast members and a proven track record of delivering growth,” said D’Amaro in a statement. “His focus on service excellence, broad international leadership, and strong connection to the creativity that brings our stories to life make him the right leader to guide Disney Experiences into its next chapter.”
Mazloum will officially succeed D’Amaro next Wednesday, the same day that Bob Iger hands the keys to the kingdom to the next generation of leadership.
Mazloum has only been in the job at Disneyland for a bit over a year, taking over operations of Walt Disney’s original theme park last January.
Before that he was president of Disney Signature Experiences, which includes Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Disney’s Aulani resort in Hawaii and other businesses.
In connection with Mazloum’s promotion, Disney Experiences also made a number of other changes to its senior leadership: Jill Estorino will become president of Disneyland Resort, succeeding Mazloum. She had been president of Disney Parks International; Tasia Filippatos will become president of Disney Parks International, after having served as president of Disney Consumer Products; and Lisa Baldzicki will become president of Disney Consumer Products, most recently working as head of parks product development & retail for the division.
“As we look ahead, I have tremendous confidence in Thomas and in the leaders stepping into these roles — Jill, Tasia, and Lisa — along with the incredible leadership team across Disney Experiences,” D’Amaro added. “Together, they will continue to build on our momentum around the world, delivering the service, creativity and one-of-a-kind experiences that define Disney.”
Disney’s experiences division, of course, is one of the things that separates the entertainment giant from the rest of the competition in the media business. It includes theme parks in California, Florida, France, China and Japan, a large and growing cruise ship line, a vacation club and planned communities, and luxury travel experiences.
The operational complexity and high moat (only Universal has an experiences business of any scale, and it is still vastly smaller than Disney’s) mean that the company largely has the space to itself. D’Amaro, of course, cut his teeth in experiences before being named as Bob Iger’s successor.
But it is also where Disney exploits its vast library of intellectual property to great effect, keeping characters and franchises created decades ago relevant to consumers and families today, though both its theme parks and its high-margin consumer products business.
In the company’s fiscal 2025, Disney Experiences had revenue of $36.2 billion, and segment operating income of $10 billion, generating more profit than the company’s entertainment and sports divisions combined.
That profit engine is also why Disney has committed to spend $60 billion through 2033 on expanding the division through new attractions, lands, hotels and cruise ships. Now it will fall to Mazloum to execute on the expansion that D’Amaro kicked off.
“We’re in an unprecedented period of growth for Disney Experiences,” D’Amaro said. “This team will propel the world-class experiences Disney is known for to more guests across the globe.”
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