Jim Lewis, President of DVC - Fired!

[yoyoflamingo]

There is no reason given, but rumors on the Internet point to it having to do with Aulani sales not following proper procedure. Of course, will all the management changes, could be another example of changes to the structure again. Again, just hearsay but he is definitely fired, to be replaced by someone "in the near future."

Disney Vacation Club: Jim Lewis, president of Disney Vacation Club, loses his job - OrlandoSentinel.com

[yoyoflamingo]

Just got an email from DVC: replacement is Claire Bilby, who apparently "...served as Senior Vice President of Distribution Marketing and Asia Pacific Sales for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Among her responsibilities were leading all sales channel marketing for Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Walt Disney Travel Company, Adventures by Disney and Disney Institute. She also served as the top sales leader for Disney Destinations' Asia Pacific Region, with responsibilities for Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney's regional sales office in Tokyo and sales offices in Australia and China. Most recently, Claire led the sales organization at Disneyland Resort Paris on a temporary assignment."

[OC2Epcot]

This article original posted a couple of days after the above article gives more details.

According to the people familiar with details of the investigation, it focused on the annual dues that Disney Vacation Club plans to charge buyers of Aulani time shares. Those yearly fees are used to cover ongoing expenses such as the resort's maintenance and repairs.

Those people said Disney concluded that Vacation Club executives had calculated dues amounts so low that they would not generate enough money to cover the cost of maintaining Aulani. The inadequate dues amounts were included in legal-disclosure documents submitted to the Hawaiian government.

Disney said Aulani's operating costs were underestimated, leading to the inadequate annual dues. It said the mistake was unintentional.

The low fees prompted concerns within the company that Aulani would eventually face a significant operating shortfall, the people familiar with the investigation said. The company also feared the possibility of a brand-damaging backlash from Hawaiian regulators or consumers should Disney attempt to significantly raise Aulani's annual dues in future years to plug any deficit.

All of the people familiar with the events spoke only on the condition that they not be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Disney suspended Aulani sales on July 9, a little more than one year after it started selling the project to consumers. The company says it is accepting "deposit reservations" in the interim from buyers who wish to lock in current Aulani prices, though there is no penalty for consumers who cancel such reservations.

Fired: Jim Lewis, president of Disney Vacation Club, the company's time-share division. Jim Heaney, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Disney Cruise Line and travel operations, and Lawrence Smith, a former director of finance for Disney Vacation Club who was most recently with food-and-beverage operations for Walt Disney World.

The entire article:

Disney firings: Disney halts sales and fires executives amid financial issues with Hawaiian resort - Orlando Sentinel