Valerie Cockerell

Author/consultant/keynote speaker

Valerie was born and raised in France where she graduated from Institut Pitiot-Lyon II with a degree in Business hospitality. She participated in the World Showcase Fellowship program at Epcot in 1987/88. After working as an investment advisor for a bank, she eventually joined Disneyland Paris in 1991 as a retail manager and ran multiple merchandise locations in the Resort division. She eventually joined the Merchandise Buying Office and oversaw the assortment planning for all Resort merchandise locations at Disneyland Paris.

Upon moving to Florida in 1997, Valerie worked as the Assortment Planning Manager at Downtown Disney and Epcot Center. She eventually moved to Merchandise Brand Management for both Epcot and the Disney Cruise Line. Valerie left the company and started consulting for outside organizations in the retail world. She returned to Disney in 2013 to become a contract facilitator for Disney Institute. She facilitated professional development classes and custom programs in both French and English. She drew from her international management experience in retail and operations to teach Disney’s approach to Leadership Excellence and Customer Service.

Since May 2019, Valerie is a keynote speaker and facilitates workshops with her husband Dan. She shares her expertise and methodology in leading teams and delivering outstanding customer service.
With her new book "Manage like a Mother" Valerie brings a simple to understand and easy-to-implement take on leadership inspired by a mother's playbook.