There’s a change at the top for Disneyland Paris today, in the form of a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Euro Disney S.C.A., the company behind the European resort, announced late yesterday that Mark Stead has replaced Greg Richart in the role. Mark joined Disneyland Paris in 2006 and has held the position of Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer since 2009. He previously worked with international media conglomerate Vivendi in Paris and studied at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Appointed to CFO, he faces the unenviable challenge of helping the resort to continue working out of annual losses towards profitability in the midst of a “Eurozone crisis”, while the company fights to maintain annual investment levels — or agree one-off expenses.
Greg Richart has been appointed to The Walt Disney Company as Senior Vice President, Operations, Planning and Analysis. He had held the role of CFO since 2009, having also been promoted from Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer. He originally joined The Walt Disney Company in 2003 and moved from Burbank to Paris in 2007.
“Mark’s knowledge of Euro Disney and his remarkable contribution over the last 5 years, with his strong leadership and strategic thinking make him a natural choice for his new role” said Philippe Gas, CEO of Euro Disney S.A.S., the “gérant” or management company which leads Euro Disney S.C.A. and which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Greg for his significant contributions to the growth and progress of Disneyland Paris’ business despite the current challenging economic environment.”
You can read the full press release here (PDF) or, if you feel like inducing a severe headache, why not check out the perplexing corporate structure behind our favourite holiday destination?