Joseph Gardner

Most recently, Joseph was the head of talent development for Amazon’s global shared services organizations, serving more than 60,000 employees within HR, Finance, Legal, Corporate Affairs, Business Development and Security.

Joseph worked with The Walt Disney Company for more than 17 years, starting on the college program and advancing through park and resort operations.  He was on the opening team of The Disney Institute, a concept that evolved from a 100 acre learning resort for families on vacation into a professional development and advisory services firm, helping organizations outside of Disney think differently about leadership, culture and service delivery.  Joseph was a recipient of Partners in Excellence, a Disney company award celebrating exemplary performance among less than 1% of its employees.  He was also a contributor to the first edition of the book, Be Our Guest, which explains the philosophy and practices that activate Disney’s legendary guest service around the world.  

Joseph also served as Director of Service Excellence for Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia.  There, he improved team member and patient experiences, while directly managing patient relations, spiritual and religious care, volunteer services, a gift shop and The Chopra Center.  Memorial was recognized by JD Power for outstanding patient experiences and the organization landed on Fortune magazine’s “Top 100 Places to Work in the U.S.” list during his tenure.  Joseph has also led talent and branded culture strategies as a part of the corporate offices for Marriott International, The Ritz-Carlton, Hilton Worldwide and Loews Hotels.  

Joseph and his family are residents of Celebration, Florida and enjoy traveling together, especially on Disney cruises.  His interest in architectural history and the arts began at a young age with frequent visits to Henry Flagler’s White Hall and The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, along with Parker Playhouse in Ft. Lauderdale near where he grew up.  

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