Wing T. Chao is Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific Development, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Chao plays a key leadership role in expanding the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts brand in the Asia Pacific marketplace.

Chao is also Executive Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering, overseeing master planning, design and development of Disney real estate holdings in California, Florida, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other locations worldwide.

For more than 30 years, Chao has played a pivotal part in developing and implementing projects worth over $8 billion. He has directed some of the world's most prominent architects in creating award-winning architectural landmarks. Among them: 36,000 hotel rooms, 180 restaurants, 3 million-square-feet of office buildings, 2 million-square-feet of mixed-used development, and a 200-acre, state-of-the-art sports complex. He also oversaw the design of the two themed, 83,000-ton Disney cruise ships and the master planning of Celebration, a new town development next to Walt Disney World in Florida. Working closely with Disney Imagineers, he has guided and planned Disney's Theme Park development worldwide.

Since 1992, Chao has been active in studying the potential for future Disney park and resort projects in Asia, including the site selection for Hong Kong Disneyland. He played an instrumental role in the successful negotiation with the Hong Kong government for the project, Disney's third international destination resort, which opened in September 2005. To reflect his continued global role, in 2000 Chao was appointed Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific Development, for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Chao joined Disney in 1972 in Florida where he was responsible for the land-use planning of Downtown Disney, a Retail-Dining-Entertainment complex at Walt Disney World Resort. Stationed two years later at Imagineering's headquarters in Glendale, California, he headed the planning of Epcot Center. By the late '70's, he was involved in the planning of Disney's first international theme park, Tokyo Disneyland. In 1984, Chao shifted his focus back to Florida and participated in the expansion of the Walt Disney World Resort, including additional theme parks, resort hotels, restaurants, shops, golf course and the Disney-MGM Studios.

From 1985-87, Chao, then a Vice President, was a key member in the successful negotiation with the French government to build the Disneyland Paris Resort. Two years later, he was promoted to Senior Vice President and, in 1997, elevated to the position of Executive Vice President.

Chao holds Bachelor and Master of Architecture degrees from the University of California, Berkeley; and Master of Architecture with focus in Urban Design from Harvard University. He completed post-graduate work in Urban Planning and Real Estate Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chao also holds an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration in Hospitality Management, from Johnson and Wales University.

A registered architect in Florida and California, Chao is a Fellow of The American Institute of Architects, and a member of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and the Urban Land Institute. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Hong Kong International Theme Parks Limited.

Chao has received many honorable distinctions, including the Asian American Architects/Engineers Association's Outstanding Achievement Award and Dream L.A. Award, the Platinum Circle Award from the American Institute of Architects/Los Angeles. He was named one of the 500 most influential Asians in the United States by Avenue magazine; ranked among the top 40 Asian-American professionals by Transpacific magazine, and honored in a cover story as one of the Top 20 hospitality industry leaders and innovators by the Hospitality Design magazine. In 1992, Interior Design Magazine featured him in a cover story when Disney was the recipient of the corporate America Design Awards. In 2005, he was honored for excellence in architecture and design innovation by the Los Angeles Committee for Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage, and in that same year, featured on the cover of Hotel Business Magazine's September issue.