Barbara Bouza, President of Walt Disney Imagineering, has announced that she will be stepping down from the position. Bouza joined Disney in June 2020 and was named WDI President in November 2021, taking over the position from longtime Imagineer Bob Weis.

In her departure announcement on social media, Bouza said that she was recruited by Disney to “challenge the norm and bring broader global industry perspective and expertise”. Bouza said that she joined at a time when “humanity needed Disney more than ever”, noting that “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”.

Bouza even noted the challenges that faced Walt Disney Imagineering, including “the pressures of talent reductions”, and “the need to make life changing decisions with their families around the relocation from California to Florida”. She even said that Imagineering was facing “political crosshairs”.

Bouza said that Imagineers pushed through all of those challenges, and “delivered some of the most impactful projects in the history of The Walt Disney Company”.

Bouza said that WDI will be left in the hands of Bruce Vaughn, who was brought back to Walt Disney Imagineering almost exactly a year ago. When Vaughn returned, it was announced that he would co-lead Imagineering with Bouza.

Vaughn previously held the role of Chief Creative Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering for more than 9 years before leaving Disney in 2016. During his time at Imagineering, Vaughn had a long career that dated back to 1993 and included a number of projects such as Spaceship Earth renovations, Pandora – The World of Avatar, and Lucky the Dino.

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