If you told Ed Baklor that he would one day become the senior vice president of the Walt Disney Company after graduating from The Kogod School of Business in 1980 with a BS in business administration and a concentration in finance, he would have said you were smoking something. Yet, as he learned through experience, having a singular focus in your career can limit your opportunities.
“You don’t know what else is going to come your way,” says Baklor.
He started his professional career as a financial analyst for a commercial real estate company, faced with spreadsheets and a ten-key adding machine. Although he was the first at his company to have a personal desk computer, Baklor found that he much preferred being on the other side of his desk, engaging with customers and coworkers. This is how he discovered his passion for leadership and operations.
With his broad education base from American University, except for a few-week-long program at Cornell’s Hotel Administration and Hospitality Management, Baklor moved into the general manager role of World Showcase at Epcot for the Walt Disney Company.
“It’s very unusual for Disney to bring in someone at the GM level that hadn’t grown up immersed in the parks,” explains Baklor. His husband started directing cars in the Disney parking lots at age 18, and many other employees from the company have similar starting-out stories.
“I was privileged and honored for the opportunity, but quickly learned that entering a company—especially one with a brand like Disney—requires one to enter with a significant degree of humility,” he says.
Baklor found early on that he could learn valuable lessons by involving himself with company members at all levels. He networked within the Walt Disney Company and took on initiatives outside his day-to-day role to immerse himself more thoroughly in the company culture.
After nearly fifteen years working for the Walt Disney Company, Baklor transitioned to a role focused on the customer experience for a luxury train company based in Canada before moving into a role with WestJet, Canada’s version of JetBlue, then becoming the chief commercial officer of Laguardia Airport in New York and rounding out his career as the head of customer care and programs for JetBlue before retiring in December 2022. Through all these positions, he stuck to his mission to connect with people at all levels of the organization while considering how every employee plays a role in customer experience.
From saying good morning to the building maintenance team while admiring LaGuardia’s Terminal B water feature that he helped implement to leading diversity resource groups that empowered staff members to be their authentic selves in the workplace.
“The Walt Disney Company launched a resource group for the LGBTQ community among employees. As a gay executive, I was asked to be the executive champion for the initiative. This allowed me to guide employees and cast members at all levels,” says Baklor.