Joe Rohde who retired from Walt Disney Imagineering in January already has his next gig. Rohde will join Virgin Galactic as an Experience Architect and strategic advisor.
Joe Rohde’s new gig will be helping design and guide the overall experience for Virgin Galactic’s space travel which will include future astronauts, friends and family, and fans alike. Virgin Galactic was founded by Sir Richard Branson with the hopes to popularize and commercialize space travel.
Rohde’s career at Walt Disney Imagineering includes impressive highlights like Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii, Pandora: The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and so much more.
“I spent 40 years with Walt Disney Imagineering and that word, ‘Imagineering,’ refers to the fusion of imagination and engineering. This means I’ve come from a tradition where if you are imagining something, you are imagining that thing is going to be made real. That’s also been going on here at Virgin Galactic, and I’m delighted to be joining at this incredible moment in time when it is about to blossom into public awareness,” said Joe Rohde in a statement for Virgin Galactic. “This is one of the most profound things that can happen to you. To go beyond the reaches of the earth, to space, and look back down at it. It’s a spectacularly unique opportunity with huge potential for transformational change in a person…What Virgin Galactic is doing, in democratizing space travel, has reached a moment where it is about to enter history. It’s happening right here in New Mexico, and it’s very rare to be a person who gets to be in the place, at the time, that history begins.’’
Virgin Galactic announces legendary former Disney Imagineer, @Joe_Rohde, as Experience Architect. He will help design and guide the overall experience journey for future astronauts, friends and family, and inspired fans alike. https://t.co/Vk9dRPSURZ pic.twitter.com/Wksbe1e3lp
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) February 22, 2021
Joe Rohde joining Virgin Galactic reteams him with former President and Managing Director, Disney Parks International, and former Disneyland Resort President Michael Colglazier who is the Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic.
Michael Colglazier discussed bringing in Joe Rohde, “As soon as I joined Virgin Galactic, I knew there was one person we just had to work with to help shape the incredible experience we are developing — and that person was Joe Rohde. Joe has a methodology that is unique, inspired, and truly effective. His track record for keeping authenticity central to the design and creating deeply transformative experiences aligns perfectly with our mission. I couldn’t be more pleased to see Joe choose Virgin Galactic for his first encore!’’
So, there you have it. Joe Rohde will help shape the way that thousands of astronauts and fans get to experience space travel in the near future. Congrats to Joe on the awesome new gig and us here at Boardwalk Times look forward to seeing what the future has in store for Virgin Galactic.
Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
