Long-time Disney employee Michael Colglazier has been promoted to a new role overseeing Disney’s parks and resorts across Asia.

Disney has invested heavily in its Asian parks in recent years, with the landmark launch of its US$5.5bn (€4.4bn, £3.9bn) Shanghai theme park resort, as well as breaking ground in October on its US$1.39bn (€1.18bn, £1.05bn) six-year expansion of Disneyland Hong Kong.

Colglazier will become the new president and managing director of Disney’s Asia Pacific Operation from 5 March.

He joined Disney as an analyst in 1989 and is currently president of Disneyland in California, a role he has held since January 2013.

Prior to that, he served as head of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, where he led the planning and development of the recently opened Avatar Land.

He has also overseen the creation and growth of Disney’s PhotoPass programme and held roles at Epcot as general manager and at Disneyland as manager of project development.

Colglazier is succeeded at Disneyland California by Josh D’Amaro, whose career also spans more than 20 years, with his most recent role working as senior vice president at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

In his new position, he will be responsible for overseeing final development of the US$1bn (€810m, £710m) Star Wars Land, which is scheduled to open next year.

“Michael and Josh bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their new roles and share a passion for delivering extraordinary experiences for our guests,” said Bob Chapek, chair of Disney Parks and Resorts.

”They're the right leaders to bring our ambitious expansion plans to life during this period of unprecedented growth.”