AVP
11-05-2015, 12:40 PM
Jon Storbeck, the current vice president for Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Resort Hotels, announced his retirement in an e-mail sent to his Disney colleagues today. He will leave Disney in January, ending a 32-year career with the company.
Storbeck started working at Disneyland in 1983, and spent his Disney career based in Anaheim. According to his LinkedIn profile, Storbeck was the vice president of Disneyland Park from 2005-2014. Last spring, he was named vice president of Downtown Disney and Resort Hotels, and Disney California Adventure vice president Mary Niven moved across the esplanade into the Disneyland role. While the shift was technically a lateral transfer, many considered the move to be a sign that Storbeck had fallen out of favor with more senior executives.
In his letter, Storbeck said he was retiring to "spend time with his family," a phrase that is often a euphemism for "forced to resign." Whether Storbeck really is leaving to spend more time with his wife and four children (per his official Disney bio (http://publicaffairs.disneyland.com/leadership/jon-storbeck/)), or is leaving for other reasons, today's news came as a shock to some of his coworkers.
Disney had no comment today on Storbeck's resignation, and there has been no word about who will replace him in the role.
Storbeck started working at Disneyland in 1983, and spent his Disney career based in Anaheim. According to his LinkedIn profile, Storbeck was the vice president of Disneyland Park from 2005-2014. Last spring, he was named vice president of Downtown Disney and Resort Hotels, and Disney California Adventure vice president Mary Niven moved across the esplanade into the Disneyland role. While the shift was technically a lateral transfer, many considered the move to be a sign that Storbeck had fallen out of favor with more senior executives.
In his letter, Storbeck said he was retiring to "spend time with his family," a phrase that is often a euphemism for "forced to resign." Whether Storbeck really is leaving to spend more time with his wife and four children (per his official Disney bio (http://publicaffairs.disneyland.com/leadership/jon-storbeck/)), or is leaving for other reasons, today's news came as a shock to some of his coworkers.
Disney had no comment today on Storbeck's resignation, and there has been no word about who will replace him in the role.