Business Super Hero of the Month: Walt Disney

27 Aug 2015

Last week, The Walt Disney Company announced ambitious expansion plans to bring two iconic films – Star Wars and Toy Story – to life.

At its D23 EXPO 2015, fans were told that a Star Wars-themed land will be coming to both its California and Florida parks. These will be the largest single-themed land expansions to date, covering 14 acres each, and will transport guests to a never-before seen planet.

The Toy Story-themed land will be slightly smaller, at 11 acres, and will take guests into Andy’s backyard in the Orlando theme park.

This announcement inspired us to name Walt Disney as our August Business Super Hero. Walt Disney is a man who needs no introduction –almost 50 years on from his death, his vision and ethos for The Walt Disney Company and everything associated with the brand lives on and this latest expansion is proof of that.

For more than nine decades Walt Disney has been associated with family entertainment and innovation, the entrepreneur brought his vision of creating a place for families to have fun to life – Disneyland is literally a place ‘where dreams come true.’

From his first steps into the animation world in 1919, to the opening of Disneyland in 1955, this was a savvy businessman who took an idea and made it an international success.

For me though, it’s his legacy that has lived on that is most admirable and inspiring. The team at The Walt Disney Company have ensured his spirit lives on in the work that they do. The movies I loved to watch as a child have been remade or updated for modern day, like the recently released Live Action Cinderella, the emergence of new modern classics like Finding Nemo, Cars, and Up, have reached out to a whole new generation and the continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of cinematic genius can only be applauded (although I’m not sure I can take another chorus of “Let it go”).

The business technology world can learn a huge amount from Disney – he was a man of determination and ambition, never forgetting the importance of dreaming and always striving for that next step. All of which are very important qualities to have both in business and in tech innovation.

In 2015 this corporation has not lost its touch – arguably it’s bigger than ever -and with these new expansion plans on the horizon the magic of Disney is likely to be around for generations to be come.

And that is a lovely legacy to have.