Djuan Rivers

Djuan Rivers
Born 1965
Orlando, Florida
Residence Orlando, Florida
Nationality American
Education BA in Economics
Alma mater Emory University
Occupation Vice President, Disney's Animal Kingdom

Djuan Rivers is the Vice President of Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. He previously served as Vice President for Hotels and Business Solutions at Disneyland Paris after having been General Manager of the Disney Aulani Resort & Spa in Hawaii.

Background

Djuan Rivers (born 1965) is an Orlando native and attended Emory University where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 1987.

Career with the Walt Disney Company

He is a 20-year veteran of the Walt Disney Company. Having started at an entry level managerial position, he worked his way up to become the General Manager of Disney's Wilderness Lodge. Rivers held a number of positions and helped lead the opening of six resorts in Florida and three resorts at Disneyland Paris. In 2005, he was named Vice President of Downtown Disney in Florida. In 2007, he was named the Vice President for New Business Development for Disney’s Parks and Resorts division.[1]

In 2008, he was made the Vice President of Disney’s forthcoming Aulani Resort and Spa, making him one of the most senior African-Americans in the Walt Disney Company. In addition to overseeing the $800,000,000 construction project, Rivers is also charged with building ties with local communities and government officials along with learning about the native Hawaiian culture, in order to authentically integrate it into the resort.[2][3][4] Rivers is committed to incorporating environmentally friendly initiatives into the resort's design and construction.[5] He is also one of the Executive Champions of the Disney VoluntEARS program. In 2012, Rivers was appointed Vice President for Hotels and Business Solutions at Disneyland Paris.[6]

In 2014, Rivers was appointed to the position of Vice President of Disney's Animal Kingdom.[7] Rivers has overseen and implemented Animal Kingdom's new "after dark" attractions, including the "Rivers of Light" show[8] and evening lighting on the Kilimanjaro Safaris and the Tree of Life[9] He is currently in charge of completing construction for and launching the forthcoming Pandora–The World of Avatar area of the theme park, which is due in 2017.[10]

Personal

Rivers serves on the Board of Directors of the Child & Family Service charity of Hawaii and the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii.[11] He is known for being an avid sportsman, as he is attempting to climb the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent.[12] In October 2008, Rivers was one of the first people to participate in a HALO skydive over Mount Everest, incidentally making him the first African-American to do so.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Orlando Sentinel: Disney Names Exec to Lead Hawaii Resort
  2. ↑ Hotel Online: Disney Resort Takes Shape on Oahu, Expects to Invest $800 million, Employ 1,000
  3. ↑ Disney Press Release on Aulani
  4. ↑ http://www.yesterland.com/disneykoolina3.html
  5. ↑ Traveling Mom: Disney's Aulani for a Hawaiian Experience
  6. ↑ Djuan Rivers Bloomberg Profile
  7. ↑ New Vice President Named for Disney's Animal Kingdom
  8. ↑ Disney's Animal Kingdom to Explore Its After Dark Side
  9. ↑ How New Lighting on the Savannah Gave Animal Kingdom Nightlife.
  10. ↑ What We Know About 'Avatar'-Inspired Pandora Coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom
  11. ↑ Child & Family Services of Hawaii: Board of Directors
  12. ↑ Urban Land Institute: Djuan Rivers Biography
  13. ↑ http://www.everest-skydive.com/blog/first-skydive-2008-updates-7th-october/

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/6/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.