The President of Walt Disney Imagineering, Barbara Bouza, has announced that she is stepping down in the coming month from her post at Disney. She joined Imagineering in 2020 before replacing Bob Weiss as President of WDI when he retired. Upon her departure, Bruce Vaughn will be taking the reigns at Imagineering. He has been co-leading Imagineering with Bouza as Chief Creative Officer since his return to the company last year.
Bouza made the announcement of her departure on her Instagram. She said in a post, “It is bittersweet as I wrap up my work as President of Walt Disney Imagineering this month before I create an even bigger impact for world.” She continued to also announce Vaughn’s new role. “WDI will be in excellent hands with my partner, Bruce Vaughn, Chief Creative Officer, who is an exceptional creative leader.”
Earlier in the post, she also shared how she came to the company in 2020. She shared how she was “recruited by The Walt Disney Company to challenge the norm and bring broader global industry perspective and expertise.” While acknowledging the amazing storytelling and experiences that Imagineering gives to guests, she also acknowledged the challenges of the last few years, especially with the onset of the pandemic. She said at the time that she “truly believed humanity needed Disney more than ever. The world was trying to understand the impact of a global pandemic, business disruption, stay at home orders, a reckoning on race, and the growing political divide. From there Imagineers endured the pressures of talent reductions, unprecedented hyper-escalation on projects, political crosshairs, and the need to make life changing decisions with their families around the relocation from California to Florida.”
She continued on and noted that through these most challenging times, “Imagineers relentlessly created and delivered some of the most impactful projects in the history of The Walt Disney Company. This success has fueled the turbocharged growth of Disney Experiences through $60 billion in investment over the next 10 years that Bob Iger and Josh D’Amaro speak of.”
She wrapped up this thought by thanking thanking Imagineers past, present, and future “for making the impossible possible.”
The change in leadership comes at Walt Disney Imagineering almost a year after Bruce Vaughn returned to the company. After working at Walt Disney Imagineering for about two decades, Vaughn left in 2016 to become the CEO and CCO of Dreamscape Immersive, which makes location-based virtual reality experiences. In 2021 he joined AirBnB as vice president of experiential creative product. This is the role he left when he rejoined Disney. At this point, Disney has not made any official announcement about Bouza’s departure of Vaughn’s promotion. Daps Magic will continue to follow this story and report as more details are officially shared.
Here is Barbara Bouza’s full post announcing her departure:
Proudly building upon our extraordinary legacy, Imagineers are shaping a future that inspires humanity. As one global team of innovative creators and storytellers, we immerse our guests in experiences that make memories of a lifetime.
As a licensed architect I was recruited by The Walt Disney Company to challenge the norm and bring broader global industry perspective and expertise. Joining Walt Disney Imagineering in June of 2020, I truly believed humanity needed Disney more than ever. The world was trying to understand the impact of a global pandemic, business disruption, stay at home orders, a reckoning on race, and the growing political divide. From there Imagineers endured the pressures of talent reductions, unprecedented hyper-escalation on projects, political crosshairs, and the need to make life changing decisions with their families around the relocation from California to Florida.
Through all of this, Imagineers relentlessly created and delivered some of the most impactful projects in the history of The Walt Disney Company. This success has fueled the turbocharged growth of Disney Experiences through $60 billion in investment over the next 10 years that Bob Iger and Josh D’Amaro speak of. So I want to take this moment to personally thank all Imagineers, past, present and future for making the impossible possible.
It is bittersweet as I wrap up my work as President of Walt Disney Imagineering this month before I create an even bigger impact for world. Stay tuned! WDI will be in excellent hands with my partner, Bruce Vaughn, Chief Creative Officer, who is an exceptional creative leader.
“There’s really no secret about our approach. We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious.” Walt Disney @waltdisneyimagineering@disney
Here is Bruce Vaughn’s current bio as Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Imagineering:
As chief creative officer of Walt Disney Imagineering, Bruce Vaughn co-leads the global, multidisciplinary team behind the creation of Disney’s theme parks, attractions, resorts, cruise ships and entertainment experiences. In particular, he focuses on innovative ways to transform Disney’s extensive collection of beloved franchises, characters and stories into groundbreaking immersive experiences that delight guests around the world.
In 2023 Bruce rejoined Imagineering from Airbnb, where he was vice president, experiential creative product, concentrating on creating meaningful connections between travelers and locals around the world through authentic experiences. Prior to that role, Bruce was the CEO and CCO of Dreamscape Immersive, where he worked with teams to advance virtual reality technologies to create an entirely new form of mainstream location-based entertainment.
Bruce first joined Imagineering in 1993 as a senior technical specialist and went on into several roles of increasing responsibility. Beyond his work at Imagineering he has been involved in efforts across various divisions of The Walt Disney Company that include Consumer Products, Feature Animation, Internet, Location-Based Entertainment, Music, Television, and Theatrical.
Prior to his original stint with Imagineering, Bruce worked on the technical staff of Associates & Ferren, where he contributed to the development and execution of special effects for various media projects. He has received several screen credits for feature films, including Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) and Imposter (2001). Bruce has led R&D teams that received Thea (Themed Entertainment Awards) awards for Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold, Stitch’s Photo Phone, and Lucky the Dino.
Bruce graduated cum laude from Colgate University in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and a minor in art history.
What do you think of Barbara Bouza’s departure from Walt Disney Imagineering? What do you think her legacy will be at WDI? What do you think of Vaughn’s apparent promotion? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
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