Disneyland Paris Announces Appointment of Chief Financial Officer Natacha Rafalski as New President

Disneyland Paris has appointed Natacha Rafalski as its new president. This comes after the promotion of former president Catherine Powell to President of the Disney Parks Western Region. Powell now oversees Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney World Resort, and the Disneyland Resort.

Rafalski most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer at Disneyland Paris. Before that role, she has held multiple leadership roles within The Walt Disney Company through the course of her 23-year career at Disney. As the president over Disneyland Paris, she will oversee the magical experience nearly 15 million guests have when they visit Disneyland Paris each year. Disneyland Paris is the top tourist destination in Europe. It currently has a multinational team of 16,000 cast members, two theme parks, eight themed hotels, a 27-hole golf course, and the Disney Village. On top of overseeing all of this, she will also oversee the expansion of The Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris.

It is a very exciting time for Disneyland Paris as we continue to transform our organization and move forward with the expansion of our resort,” said Catherine Powell. “Natacha has proven to be an exceptional leader with a global viewpoint who has the versatility and experience needed to lead the continued success of Disneyland Paris.”

“I am incredibly honored and excited to assume this position at such a transformational time for the resort,” said Natacha Rafalski. “France holds a special place in my heart, and I’m looking forward to leading and growing the business as we continue to build on and expand the promise of Europe’s top tourist destination.”

Natacha Rafalski joined The Walt Disney Company in 1995 and has held various leadership roles in corporate treasury and finance. She was CFO for The Walt Disney Company Greater China headquartered in Shanghai between October 2013 and October 2017. In that role, she was instrumental in providing strategic leadership and strategies that continue to spur financial growth in the area. She also was part of the Shanghai Disney Resort negotiation team. Before this, she held roles for Disneyland Paris that included oversight for corporate finance and projects.

Rafalski has also been a leader and advocate for Diversity and Inclusion at Disneyland Paris. She established a women’s leadership group called D Elles P. It formed a network dedicated to women. In 2017 she was a winner of the Profiles in Diversity Journal’s 16th Annual Women Worth Watching® Awards.

Natacha Rafalski was raised just outside of Paris, France and was born in Montreal, Canada. She has an M.B.A. in Finance from Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California at Los Angeles and a B.A. in Mathematics/Economics, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of California.


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