Cedar Fair Names Former Disney Executive President of Company.

[RailRider]

Matthew A. Ouimet named President of Compnay effective immediately and will succeed Kinzel as CEO at the end of the year.

SANDUSKY, Ohio, June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Cedar Fair

Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN) today announced that Matthew A. Ouimet has

been named president of the Company, effective immediately. Ouimet, 53, will

succeed Dick Kinzel, 70, as chief executive officer, who will retire upon the

expiration of his contract on January 3, 2012. Today's action is in line with

Cedar Fair's previously announced CEO succession planning process.

Ouimet is a 20 year veteran of the amusement park and hospitality industry, of

which 17 years were spent with the Walt Disney Company ("Disney"). During his

tenure with the global entertainment conglomerate, he had the opportunity to

work in a wide range of business lines with increasing levels of responsibility.

Highlights of his tenure at Disney include serving as:

Senior vice president, finance and business development, and chief financial

officer of the Disney Development Company, in which he was responsible for the

financial management of Disney's resort, theme park and corporate real estate

projects in California, Florida and France;

Executive general manager of Disney Vacation Club, where, through expanded

marketing and sales initiatives, Disney established itself as a major competitor

in the timeshare industry;

President of Disney Cruise Line, where his team built the most successful family

cruise product in the industry;

President of the Disneyland Resort, where he and his team developed and

implemented a comprehensive strategic plan that resulted in significantly

improved and sustained performance for Disneyland's 50th anniversary and beyond.

In 2006, Ouimet was recruited to serve as the President of Starwood Hotels &

Resorts, overseeing 900 owned, managed and franchised hotel properties in 95

countries. In this capacity, in support of brand-driven pricing premiums, he

drove an operational focus on delivering a guest experience consistent with the

characteristics of each of Starwood's hotel brands, including St Regis, Westin,

Sheraton, W Hotels and five other brands. In 2008, Ouimet joined Corinthian

Colleges, a $2 billion, publicly-held, post-secondary education company which

operates in the U.S. and Canada. As President and Chief Operating Officer,

Ouimet championed executive talent development and the expansion of management

and systems infrastructure to support rapid growth in the student population and

expanded regulatory complexity.

"Without question, Matt is the right leader to join Cedar Fair now as it builds

momentum on its renewed path of sustained, profitable growth in 2011 and

beyond," said C. Thomas ("Tom") Harvie, independent chairman. "Throughout his

career, Matt has proven to be a critical thinker and effective business

strategist with an enviable track record for identifying growth opportunities

within existing businesses in the amusement park and resort industry. His broad

and diverse background in resort development, finance, marketing and operations

will allow him to integrate quickly into Cedar Fair.

"While our thorough search process with the assistance of the executive search

firm Korn/Ferry International enabled us to meet with and consider many

extremely qualified candidates, the Board agreed that Matt stood out from the

rest due to his strategic business mindset and his natural and engaging

leadership style," said Harvie.

"Matt is an impressive business and operational executive whose character and

values will be a great complement to the strong Cedar Fair culture," said Dick

Kinzel, chief executive officer. "I look forward to working with him over the

coming months to ensure a seamless leadership transition."

Ouimet currently serves on the Board of Collective Brands, Inc., a $3.4 billion

global enterprise encompassing the internationally recognized footwear brands of

Payless, Sperry Top-Sider, Stride Rite and Saucony, where he serves as a

financial expert on the audit and finance committee. He earned a Bachelor of

Science degree majoring in accounting from State University of New York at

Binghamton.

"I am thrilled to join this successful Cedar Fair leadership team. I am

particularly pleased to have the opportunity to work closely with Dick Kinzel

and to continue to build on his legacy in years to come," said Matt Ouimet.

"Cedar Fair is a wonderful company - its properties are vibrant and extremely

well-run, its reputation is superb, and the record-setting 2010 performance has

put us on a path to deliver the positive financial results Cedar Fair has long

been known for. I am truly honored to have this opportunity and sincerely thank

the Board for entrusting me with this critical leadership role at this pivotal

point in Cedar Fair's evolution."

"On behalf of the Board, the management team and all of our colleagues past and

present, I would like to thank Dick Kinzel for his unparalleled vision, passion

and selfless dedication to Cedar Fair over the years," said Harvie. "Without

Dick, Cedar Fair would not have the opportunities or the growth potential it has

today. He has been the heart and soul of this organization for many, many years

and, while he can be succeeded, he can never be replaced. We wish Dick and his

wonderful family all the very best as he moves into his well-deserved retirement

at the end of the year."

PR Newswire

[TombRaiderFTW]

Is it silly or not that this just made me a lot more hopeful for the theming at KI?

EDIT: Wait... President AND CEO? Wasn't that the start of all the Qs in the first place?

[KIfan73]

I'm no amusement industry expert, but my mind is racing thinking about someone that worked for Disney so long being in charge of Kings Island (as well as the other CF parks)...

[Delirium13]

This choice seriously has me very excited! I half expected them to go with a Cedar Fair insider, but, as others have said, the idea of a former Disney executive being in charge of Kings Island and the other Cedar Fair parks has my mind thinking of the many possibilities, improvements in theming, attention to detail, food quality, etc. Maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself... But I wish Mr. Ouimet the best of luck and look forward to what he may have in store for the parks!

[lebeau]

This is amazing news. Matt Ouimet is credited with much of the turn around in Disneyland. I am excited to see what he can do for Cedar Fair!

[74Gibson]

Seems exciting. I'm anxious to hear more about him, his vision for the parks and just kinda how he ran things in the past. I'm thrilled with the possibilities, just cautious because I don't know anything about the man (calling all Terpies((and another pluralization debate)).

The quote below (from the op's quoted article) made me have regret for some of the things I've said.

I would like to thank Dick Kinzel for his unparalleled vision, passion

and selfless dedication to Cedar Fair over the years," said Harvie. "Without

Dick, Cedar Fair would not have the opportunities or the growth potential it has

today. He has been the heart and soul of this organization for many, many years

and, while he can be succeeded, he can never be replaced.

Dick Kinzel is directly responsible for many things that have given me lots of joy. For that, I am indebted to him. Unfortunately, I've been offended in my recent conversations with him because I don't like how he had been running things... I would be more specific but this is a fansite and...

NEW CEO! With the improvement we've seen in the parks recently, a record setting year in 2010, and fresh blood at the helm I'm very excited about possibilities.

TombraiderFTW: The article reads as though he will currently be President and will become the CEO (and I would assume his previous role as president replaced) when Kinzel retires.

[Hendrick]

While I'm excited about it, I'm interested to know how Q will react....

[lebeau]

Seems exciting. I'm anxious to hear more about him, his vision for the parks and just kinda how he ran things in the past. I'm thrilled with the possibilities, just cautious because I don't know anything about the man (calling all Terpies((and another pluralization debate)).

Here's a thread from Miceage from when Matt left Disney. Check it out to see what an impact he had at Disneyland:

http://micechat.com/forums/disneyland-resort/67998-thank-you-matt-ouimet.html

[Platinum Bass]

EDIT: Wait... President AND CEO? Wasn't that the start of all the Qs in the first place?

It was the separation of the CEO and Chairman of the Board positions that you're thinking of. Those have indeed been separated and will remain so.

[TombRaiderFTW]

^ Ah, okay! Thanks for clarifying that for me. I knew something didn't sound quite right there.

[PREMiERdrum]

Ouimet, eh? What a wonderful, surprising choice.

He's an expert in destination industry, with a background not only with Disneyland, but also Disney Cruise Line, and other hotel/leisure companies.

I'd expect to see a focused push into furthering the "resort" aspect of their business.

Mr. Oiumet's bio, courtesy of Forbes:

Matthew A. Ouimet

Independent Director

Collective Brands, Inc.

Topeka , KS

Sector: SERVICES / Apparel Stores

52 Years Old

MATTHEW A. OUIMET, 52, has served as a Director since June 2008. Mr. Ouimet served as President and Chief Operating Officer for Corinthian Colleges from July 2009 to October 2010. He served as Executive Vice President ? Operations for Corinthian Colleges from January 2009 to June 2009. Prior to joining Corinthian Colleges, he served as President, Hotel Group for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide from August 2006 to September 2008. Prior to joining Starwood, Mr. Ouimet spent 17 years at The Walt Disney Company, where he last served as president Disneyland Resort. Mr. Ouimet also served in a variety of other business development and financial positions, including President of Disney Cruise Line during his employment with Disney. Prior to his work with Disney, Mr. Ouimet was Controller and Senior Vice President, Finance for Lincoln Property Company from 1983 to 1989 and served as a Certified Public Accountant with Price Waterhouse from 1980 to 1983. As a result of these and other professional experiences, Mr. Ouimet possesses particular knowledge and experience in merchandising, marketing, finance, strategy, technology, government, academia, international business, and multi-division general management experience that strengthen the Board's collective qualifications, skills, and experience.

LINK - Forbes.com

[The Interpreter]

An absolutely wonderful choice. Not just an operations guy but also a finance guy, too. Engaging, charming, inspiring, a true leader. And smart enough to say nice things about the outgoing CEO. This guy fixed Pressler's/Eisner's many legacies.

The future looks to be fun indeed. Will be interesting to see what he and the soon to be truly independent chairman do with the son, too. A truly vexing decision, no matter what Terpy meant by that.

(Did he REALLY say that? Why yes, yes he did...perhaps the Son will be allowed to coast slowly into the sunset, with all the millions behind him.)

[KIfan73]

I can't help but think that this is almost like another company taking over the CF chain...I would think this guy would bring a much different philosophy to the table (not necessarily better or worse)...

[westcoaster]

Bring back some elaborate, themed, and relaxing dark rides to the parks..........Smurfs return to Kings Island 2012!!!!!!

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

*Wakes Up*

WHAT?

[74Gibson]

Thank you Terpy and Lebeau. The article you linked read like a dream come true for CF. This is very exciting indeed!

[ki lover]

Oh boy! A better themed Kings Island and a $75 single day ticket to go with it.

[muppetfan1999]

This is quite possibly the greatest thing that's ever happened in Kings Island history. Except its opening day, and even then it's still pretty close. With someone from Disney in charge who was president of Disneyland at one point (and a good one as it seems) we should get more theming! Here's hoping to him not messing up!

[RailRider]

The future is looking bright for FUN, but I hope this is a long term destination and not a quick layover on to bigger and better things. Hopefully Mr. Ouimet can have a meaningful impact and effect change throughout the parks and company.

I have great hopes for Cedar Fair and it should be interesting to see how the stock holders and the market reacts over the next few days?

[jzarley]

An excellent decision by the CF board, and an outstanding hire! I'm pleasantly surprised...I fully expected them to promote someone from within Kinzel's core team, or even worse--recruit some attorney, bank president, or car dealer from the greater Sandusky area (since they've exhibited a similarly narrow world view in the past with other executive team rescruits...)

However, I'm extremely pleased to have been wrong! Not only does Ouimet have the park financial/operations experience from Disney, but he also has the F&B/lodging experience from Starwood. (And, his time of running Starwood coincided with a lot of their growth...similar to his time at DL.)

Sorry to gush, but I think this is fantastic news!

[PKIFlyer]

From following Matt while at Disneyland, I think this is the greatest news for Cedar Fair and Kings Island. I don't think you will be seeing 100+ million dollar dark rides installed at any of the parks, but when Kings Island installs an attraction I now have hope that it will be maintained to look and operate like new year after year. Matt seems to understand that you can not just build it and forget it. Very excited for the future of the Cedar Fair parks with Matt at the helm.

[CoasterGeek101]

I am excited to see what he does.

[TTD-120-420]

I hope he fixes the things that are already there first before adding new things.

[PREMiERdrum]

As I said earlier, I'm thrilled with this choice.

However, I wouldn't look for him to come in and say "fix the lights on the Crypt", "fix Disaster Transport", or "Fix Maverick's tunnel lights." Instead, I completely expect him to very quickly cultivate an open culture of excellence, with a firm directive to protect the integrity of the product. You've got to remember his background: He's a hospitality industry finance guy. When he arrived in Anaheim, he saw the meager plans for the parks 50th and the overall rundown state of the property. He asked the maintenance guys how much it would cost to get the place back in shape, and asked the entertainment folks how much they would need to put something special together. He saw the value in those efforts and made the funds available. He is one who depends on his managers to do what they're good at.

This management style will be a welcome change from Kinzel's micromanagement. As evidenced by several recent projects (Dinosaurs Alive!, Maverick, the Starlight Spectaculars), there is great talent already in the company. A corporate attitude and structure that can foster these types of ideas could yield incredible results.

[Cory Butcher]

I agree with Ross, Terpie, Jzarley and many others who have posted here. This to me is absolutely great news. Really there are no better words to describe what this could do for the company. This is a life-breathing move in my opinion, and I think the market will soon react positively to the upside of Ouimet's impending tenure.

[KIfan73]

Well, for those of us that have never visited a Disney property yet, Disney has (kind of) come to us!!

[LongliveKingsCobra]

So...could we see some actual theming coming to a park near us, or would it be "lets make some upkeep with what we have, and we will very well work on new rides..." I hope for both!!

[Avatar]

I am a big theme fan so I hope with this announcement we do see some improvements in that area but hope is my only expectation at this point. Disneyland has great customer service so I look for that to stay at current levels or better if at all possible. What I see here that I have not seen brought up yet is the fact that Disneyland has a HUGE annual pass guest base and considering Kings Island also has a very healthy season pass guest base I believe we will have someone at the helm who appreciates and knows how to utilize that guest base to its fullest. The kicker here is that he has resort and hospitality experence too so everyone wins. Great choice and I am excited to see the direction Cedar Fair goes from here, exciting times ahead for park enthusiast who take casual interest in the parks.

[The Interpreter]

What about for park enthusiasts who take much more than a casual interest? A good Q, doncha think, Mr.R?

[Avatar]

Well those are the ones the current crew likes to make fun of and call names, I will hold off my comment about their hopes and expectations until the new crew arrives. Everything changes over time.