Virgin Galactic names Disney parks boss as CEO
Disney executive Michael Colglazier has been appointed as new CEO at Virgin Galactic.
Colglazier joins Virgin after three decades at Disney where he was most recently president of international parks.
In that role he oversaw theme park operations in Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.
He replaces George Whitesides, who has led Virgin Galactic since 2010.
Whitesides is staying on in the new role of ‘chief space officer.’
Colglazier says his appointment is timely as the company is ‘within spitting distance’ of offering joy rides into space for tourists.
"I’ve had a long career working in an industry that is all about safety and delivering customer experiences in a safe way," Colglazier said.
"Obviously aerospace is a different technology. That is part of my learning process."
Although new to the industry, at Disney Colglazier was involved in the development of the Star Wars: Galaxy Edge attraction.
"Michael’s career at one of the world’s leading customer experience brands provides a natural fit with Virgin’s culture as well as Galactic’s requirements as it prepares for commercial service," said Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson.
Virgin successfully completed its second SpaceShipTwo Unity test flight in June from its Spaceport America base in New Mexico.
by Ray Montgomery, US editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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