danyoung
02-10-2004, 01:38 PM
I read a terrific writeup on another message board about one of DL's new big wigs, and was so impressed by this new executive that I asked the author (Westsider) if I could repost it elsewhere. With his permission:
"Greg Emmer is the Senior Vice President of Resort Operations. He reports directly to Matt Ouimet.
He took over a big chunk of what T Irby had by getting Attractions, Custodial, and Guest Relations from T. T is now only in charge of Facilities, Engineering, and Security/Nurses, which is quite a big reduction in responsibility from what T had under Cynthia.
Greg also took everything from Senior VP Randy Baumberger (a close Cynthia ally) before Randy was fired very suddenly a few weeks after Cynthia left.
From Randy, Greg picked up Resort/Park Foods, Resort/Park Stores, ODV, Downtown Disney, the three Hotels, and Park Ticketing. Entertainment now has it's own VP, and Marketing and Special Events now reports to the VP in charge of that and the 50th, Michael Mendenhall.
So, Greg Emmer pretty much owns EVERYTHING that a Guest would come in contact with during a Resort visit. Greg walks the Parks constantly, and he wears a radio!
Everyone can't get over that because during the Cynthia era no one above the manager level EVER wore a radio or would know how to use it or to use the proper codes. It was very rare to see any of the old TDA execs in the Park at all, and I quite vividly remember our old Attractions Director hired by Cynthia from the Disney Stores quite literally walking THROUGH trash on the ground in Adventureland. It was beneath him to pick up napkins, and he didn't feel it was that important to the Disneyland reputation.
But cleanliness is one of Greg's big, big, big topics everywhere he goes. I have seen him pick up trash all along the River several times now, and one Mansion Lead saw him get down on the ground in his suit and scoop up trampled popcorn and used dirty napkins with his bare hands in New Orleans Square one day at Christmastime. The man simply doesn't pass within 20 yards of a scrap of paper without picking it up.
He knows the operation of pretty much every attraction, and he often swoops in and asks the Lead about a half dozen questions about your operation immediately. Like "Why is that Merge point CM not talking to Guests inbetween taking tickets? How many boats do you have on? Your station is starved of vehicles and you've got a 30 minute line, would it help if Facilities gave you some extra boats?" He focuses like a laser beam on what is important to the Guests and the Cast operating the Parks, and has no time for forced hugs or trendy management psycho-babble, and there's no smarmy sales pitch and fake smile. It's the exact polar opposite of the old executives from the Cynthia/Pressler era.
What should be the most telling is that an Attractions CM like me or tiggertoo over at Autopia even knows this much about him. He is always walking the Park, especially during the busiest days of the week, and his impact has been felt immediately.
He asks questions and engages everyone in conversation about important topics, from the Operations managers to the new 18 year old hostess at the Pirates entrance. Our management is always talking about being in awe of him, and they can't get over what a change it is from our old VP's who no one ever saw and no one ever liked.
I remember managers openly making fun of Cynthia and the old out of touch VP's in the cafeteria in front of hourly CM's on repeated occasions, but with this new group there is an incredible respect and willingness to follow their lead. I can't wait to see where he takes Disneyland/DCA to over the next 12 to 18 months! It should be awesome!"
Sounds pretty encouraging!
"Greg Emmer is the Senior Vice President of Resort Operations. He reports directly to Matt Ouimet.
He took over a big chunk of what T Irby had by getting Attractions, Custodial, and Guest Relations from T. T is now only in charge of Facilities, Engineering, and Security/Nurses, which is quite a big reduction in responsibility from what T had under Cynthia.
Greg also took everything from Senior VP Randy Baumberger (a close Cynthia ally) before Randy was fired very suddenly a few weeks after Cynthia left.
From Randy, Greg picked up Resort/Park Foods, Resort/Park Stores, ODV, Downtown Disney, the three Hotels, and Park Ticketing. Entertainment now has it's own VP, and Marketing and Special Events now reports to the VP in charge of that and the 50th, Michael Mendenhall.
So, Greg Emmer pretty much owns EVERYTHING that a Guest would come in contact with during a Resort visit. Greg walks the Parks constantly, and he wears a radio!
Everyone can't get over that because during the Cynthia era no one above the manager level EVER wore a radio or would know how to use it or to use the proper codes. It was very rare to see any of the old TDA execs in the Park at all, and I quite vividly remember our old Attractions Director hired by Cynthia from the Disney Stores quite literally walking THROUGH trash on the ground in Adventureland. It was beneath him to pick up napkins, and he didn't feel it was that important to the Disneyland reputation.
But cleanliness is one of Greg's big, big, big topics everywhere he goes. I have seen him pick up trash all along the River several times now, and one Mansion Lead saw him get down on the ground in his suit and scoop up trampled popcorn and used dirty napkins with his bare hands in New Orleans Square one day at Christmastime. The man simply doesn't pass within 20 yards of a scrap of paper without picking it up.
He knows the operation of pretty much every attraction, and he often swoops in and asks the Lead about a half dozen questions about your operation immediately. Like "Why is that Merge point CM not talking to Guests inbetween taking tickets? How many boats do you have on? Your station is starved of vehicles and you've got a 30 minute line, would it help if Facilities gave you some extra boats?" He focuses like a laser beam on what is important to the Guests and the Cast operating the Parks, and has no time for forced hugs or trendy management psycho-babble, and there's no smarmy sales pitch and fake smile. It's the exact polar opposite of the old executives from the Cynthia/Pressler era.
What should be the most telling is that an Attractions CM like me or tiggertoo over at Autopia even knows this much about him. He is always walking the Park, especially during the busiest days of the week, and his impact has been felt immediately.
He asks questions and engages everyone in conversation about important topics, from the Operations managers to the new 18 year old hostess at the Pirates entrance. Our management is always talking about being in awe of him, and they can't get over what a change it is from our old VP's who no one ever saw and no one ever liked.
I remember managers openly making fun of Cynthia and the old out of touch VP's in the cafeteria in front of hourly CM's on repeated occasions, but with this new group there is an incredible respect and willingness to follow their lead. I can't wait to see where he takes Disneyland/DCA to over the next 12 to 18 months! It should be awesome!"
Sounds pretty encouraging!