Lee Cockerell

Lee Cockerell is an accomplished author and business leader who is best known for his experience as the Executive Vice President of Operations of the Walt Disney World Resort. Cockerell has an impressive career filled with many successes, and his innovative leadership strategies have come to be admired by many. Cockerell has authored a few books that highlight his methods, and his books provide readers with valuable lessons on how to build a successful team.

Lee Cockerell was born and raised in Indiana in the United States, and after studying Economics and Business Administration at Purdue University, he worked his way up to become the Senior Vice President of Operations for the Marriot Hotels and Resorts from 1985 to 2000. During that time, he was responsible for the successful day-to-day operations of over 400 hotels, resorts and timeshares.

In 2000, Cockerell was approached by Disney to be their Executive Vice President of Operations for their entire Walt Disney World Resort. Cockerell accepted the offer and worked his way up in the company, becoming their first-ever Leadership Council chairman, a role that he held from 2000 to 2008. While in that role, Cockerell put in place processes and protocols that helped to make a Disney World visit more memorable and magical for the customers by focusing on the customer experience at every step of the journey.

One of the highlights of his Disney career was the introduction of the Magic Bands, a wearable device that customers could use to access their park tickets, track their FastPass selections and make purchases while they were at the Resort. Under his tenure, the efficiency of the ride systems and the customer's overall experience at the Walt Disney World Resort was significantly improved.

As an author, Lee Cockerell has published two books: “Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney" and "Time Management Magic: How to Get More Done Every Day and Move from Surviving to Thriving," both of which explore his experiences working at the Walt Disney World Resort and share his lessons in leadership and time management.

In his first book, Creating Magic, Lee outlines 10 common-sense leadership strategies that he developed and implemented while he was with the Walt Disney Company. These principles are still used to this day and apply to any industry, including customer service, team building, using everyone’s unique capabilities, creating a supportive culture, and giving people space to grow. He also shares stories from his time at Disney that show just how effective his strategies were.

In his second book, Time Management Magic, Lee focuses his attention on creating systems that can help individuals stay organized and manage their time more efficiently. By providing personal anecdotes and showing how he applied his strategies to life, Cockerell gives people the tools they need to make sustainable changes to their own time management strategies. He goes into detail about how to make the most of your time, how to prioritize tasks, how to prevent distractions, and how to plan for the unexpected.

Lee Cockerell's books are full of insight and lessons from his many years of working in the business world and at the Walt Disney World Resort. His knowledge and strategies for leadership and time management are sure to help readers create a successful working environment and make the most of their time.