Enabling growth at Disney
Parks & Experiences
A live fireside chat with
Kevin Lansberry
Executive Vice President and CFO
This event took place April 21st, 2022. Read about it on Linkedin here. Watch it on Youtube here. Watch his response to each question below.
Please email questions for the speaker in advance to george.benaroya@nyu.edu.
Remember the first time you visited Disney? 150 million people visit Disney each year. Meet the executive who enables that to happen, globally. No presentations. He’ll be responding to your questions.
Kevin Lansberry Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products, has been with The Walt Disney Company since 1986. In his role, Kevin is responsible for the financial planning and fiscal management of domestic and international theme parks and resorts, the Disney Cruise Line, the Disney Vacation Club, Adventures by Disney, Walt Disney Imagineering, Revenue Management and Analytics, Global Business Development, Consumer Products, and Consumer Insights and Management Analytics.
Kevin began his career in Finance as a clerk supporting the Walt Disney World Resort and worked in a multitude of roles in Finance, Business Development, Alliance Development, leaving in 2005 to lead the Disneyland Resort Finance team.
In 2007, Kevin returned to Florida to accept an operational role as Vice President, Downtown Disney. His operational responsibility later expanded and he eventually moved into the position of Vice President, Disney’s Animal Kingdom. In 2010, he was named Senior Vice President, Worldwide Travel Operations, where he led Worldwide Call Center and Consumer Direct Sales Operations for all Walt Disney Parks and Resorts locations. Kevin served as Senior Vice President, Revenue Management and Analytics for the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts segment, then SVP/CFO Domestic Business in 2013, adding the international businesses in 2015.
Kevin assumed the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts in May 2017 with the addition of Consumer Products in March 2018.
Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Ball State University and a Master of Business Administration from the Crummer School of Business at Rollins College.
Please email questions for the speaker by April 7th, 2022 to george.benaroya@nyu.edu. The discussion will be moderated by George Benaroya, VP Finance, CFO.
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All sessions are free and open to the public. No fees are ever required. Previous Speakers
Questions asked. Watch individual responses here.
1. Did you plan to become Disney’s Parks & Entertainment Executive VP & CFO?
2. How do you approve an investment in new themed rides/attractions? What are the factors used to decide? Are they only financial? How long does it take to go from an idea to the initiation of the ride construction?
3. What is the fastest and most effective way of expanding a company as large as Disney? Would it be via mergers and acquisitions or building a division of your own from scratch?
4. Parks have substantial fixed costs. Over 150 million folks visited Disney parks before the pandemic. What did we learn from Covid, about managing fixed costs and making it easier for guests to come back?
5. How is Disney giving added value to its customers considering the price increase in parks?
6. How does Disney set the prices for the tickets and merchandise, in different countries? What kind of research and analysis is done to make those decisions?
7. Since Disney is a culturally diverse company reaching many parts of the globe with an incredible level of international awareness, have there been any particularly challenging or interesting cultural barriers when expanding?
8. How does Disney approach entering a market where they are no leaders, or Disney is not the first?
9. Shanghai Disney launched LinaBell last year, a new character that has become the main reason people visit Shanghai Disney. Related products sell at high prices in the second-hand market. Unlike Mickey Mouse, LinaBell did not come out of Disney’s animation. What was the strategy behind Lina Bell, which is undoubtedly a success for Shanghai Disney? Will Disneyland continue to introduce new characters?
10. How do you measure the revenue impact of a branding activity or campaign? For example – running ads on social media versus billboards for a newly renovated Disney resort.
11. Disney has a solid, family brand strategy. How do you manage the risk from business partners, such as merchandise licensees, who might potentially damage that reputation? What does Disney evaluate to decide whether to in-house or outsource?
12. As a designer, we are taught to think about the customer experience. For Disney, a company that creates happiness, what is the value of a personalized customer experience? How do you measure customer experience in terms of revenue and financial impact?
13. Taking a break from all of the serious business questions, what Disney character do you most relate to and why?
14. What qualities of an employee do you value the most in your team? What helps you understand that an employee has a “true Disney gene” and will become an essential team member?
15. Before entering the workforce, what are three pieces of advice you wish you received? What else would you recommend for those of us graduating within the next year?
16. You have worked at Disney for over 35 years. Do you mind sharing why Disney? How did you plan your career path when you were our age?
Finance for Marketing Decisions
This is part of the Finance for Marketing Decisions class taught by Benaroya.
In this class, students learn about Finance by choosing a company and acting as if they were the company’s financial executives. Each week, they decide whether to increase prices, reduce headcount, go public, and expand into new markets. Senior executives join as Guest Speakers to share how they make business and career decisions.
About the series
These talks are offered as part of the Leading Global Growth series from NYU’s School of Professional Studies, and managed in coordination with NYU SPS Integrated Marketing & Communications, within the Division of Programs in Business.