Full Video: Disney Parks Chairman at Skift Global Forum 2022

In one year, the Walt Disney Company will be an astounding 100 years old. At Skift Global Forum, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D'Amaro excitedly talked to Skift Senior Research Analyst Seth Borko about the company's upcoming birthday and its dreams for the next 100 years.

In the on-stage conversation, D'Amaro spoke about how Walt Disney's original business plans were far ahead of his time. Now, the company can further their founder's vision with immersive storytelling that mixes virtual and physical experiences, he said. Borko and D'Amaro also discussed how Disney's has recovered revenue and staff since the pandemic, ongoing projects, what it's like to work there and D'Amaro's leadership style.

Watch the the video blow, read the transcript and learn how this centenarian company plans to stay fresh.

Seth Borko: Hello, everybody. How are you all doing?

Josh D'Amaro: These are actually pretty good.

Borko: Yeah, they're better than they could seem.

D'Amaro: Yeah, it's comfortable for me.

Borko: Well, thanks so much for joining us, Josh. We have Disney here at Skift. It's really exciting for all of us. We love it.

D'Amaro: Thanks for having me.

Borko: Yeah. You run Parks, Experience, Products. That's a pretty big division. I don't know if people here really know just how big a job you really have. Maybe tell us about what you are in charge of here.

D'Amaro: Well, first of all, it's very cool.

Borko: Yeah.

D'Amaro: That's Parks, Experiences and Products. It's a big organization. We've got about 170,000 cast members in the organization. I oversee resorts around the world. We have six resort destinations around the world. We have 12 theme parks. We've got now five cruise ships, a couple more on their way. We're the biggest licenser in the world from a products perspective, the biggest children's publisher in the world, et cetera, et cetera. So there's a lot going on inside of the business.

Borko: Yeah. Skift, we need to ask the hard hidden questions, what everyone in the room wants to know. How do you get that job? How do I work or run a Disney park?

D'Amaro: How do you get that job? Well, send me your resume afterwards and we'll take a look at that. I've been with a company for just less than 25 years. I'm on my 25th year ri