Since previous Board Chairman David D’Alessandro did not get the majority of votes from shareholders back in June, SeaWorld has announced their new Board Chairman. The board has elected Yoshikazu Maruyama to take over beginning October 9, 2017.
According to the press release, Maruyama “brings over 20 years of global theme park and family entertainment industry experience and helped to lead the early turnaround of Universal Studios Japan, which was recently acquired by Comcast NBCUniversal.”
The Orlando Sentinel reports that “Maruyama is an executive of Zhonghong Group which acquired 21 percent of equity interest in SeaWorld Entertainment earlier this year.”
Maruyama said, “I am excited to bring a fresh perspective to the Board and deeply committed to working with the management team to deliver memorable guest experiences, extend SeaWorld’s iconic brands to global audiences, improve business performance, and enhance value for shareholders and all our important stakeholders.”
SeaWorld is currently facing challenges like low attendance in their parks and federal investigations. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice are looking into statements made about the documentary Blackfish by SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. executives, putting the company under criminal investigation.
CEO of SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, Joel Manby, said: “We believe we’re on the right path; it will take time.”
News Source: Orlando Sentinel
Image Source: SeaWorld
