Luc Mayrand, VP and creative portfolio executive, has worked at Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) for over 23 years. He started out as a senior concept designer in 1999 before becoming a creative director and senior show producer in 2005. After this, he served as executive creative director for WDI, and was named as VP and portfolio creative executive for Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disney Resort in 2016.
One person who nominated Mayrand said: “Luc Mayrand is such a force at Walt Disney Imagineering in driving creativity and leading the team through difficult times. He became a fundamental pillar for our industry in the last decade.”
Located on Lantau Island, Hong Kong Disneyland is a 310-acre theme park offering seven themed lands and three hotels. It opened in 2005 and is owned and managed by Hong Kong International Theme Parks. In 2019, pre-pandemic, it welcomed 5,695,000 guests. Despite being Disney’s smallest, Hong Kong Disneyland is one of the world’s top theme parks. The park’s new Frozen-themed land is opening in the second half of 2023.
Operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and Shanghai Shendi Group, Shanghai Disneyland opened to the public in June 2016. The park is located in Pudong and is part of Shanghai Disney Resort. Additional offerings at the resort include the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and Toy Story Hotel, as well as the Disneytown shopping and dining district. Shanghai Disneyland is expanding with its eighth themed land, an immersive Zootopia zone.
Mayrand drives creativity at Disney Imagineering and has become a leader in the attractions industry over the past decade. He served as chair of the judging committee for the 2021 Thea Awards. He encouraged entries “for different scales of projects, large or small” and promised to give them all equal chances.
He is an associate professor in the School of Industrial Design at Universite de Montreal. Maynard has previously taught at ArtCenter College of Design in California and University of Southern California. Before joining Disney, he worked with renowned organisations such as Paramount Parks, sony imageworks (where he was Concept Designer for the Starship Troopers feature), and The Jim Henson Company.