WALT DISNEY theme parks used to be marketed as “the happiest place on Earth”. Yesterday André Lacroix, Eurodisney’s new chairman and chief executive, might have begged to differ as he gave warning that the park east of Paris would struggle to pay its debts, sparking a 23 per cent fall in its share price. The announcement — and his attempts to reassure workers that he would “do everything to avoid future lay-offs” — provided a tough initiation test for the 43-year-old Frenchman, who took the top job at Eurodisney just two months ago.
M Lacroix, however, should be used to the far-from-Mickey Mouse challenges that go with being a senior manager. He was president of Burger King International for two years from 2001, where he was responsible for the development, management and profitability of the brand outside North America. He has also held executive positions at Pepsi Cola International.
M Lacroix, who speaks five languages fluently, studied at the prestigious l’Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris.