The blooloop 50 theme park influencer list 2021

Jenefer Brown is executive vice president and head of global live, interactive and location-based entertainment at Lionsgate.

After the launch of Lionsgate Entertainment World in 2019 in China, Brown and her team opened more themed entertainment experiences featuring the studio’s intellectual property. There are plans to roll out the Lionsgate Entertainment World format to other territories around the world.

What sets Lionsgate apart from other IP providers in the attractions industry is its focus on largely adult-led licensed properties. One of its key film franchises is The Hunger Games, as featured within the Lionsgate-themed land at Motiongate movie park in Dubai. Meanwhile, at Thorpe Park near London and in Las Vegas, horror fans can enjoy The Walking Dead and SAW-themed rides and experiences. In 2021, a new Blair Witch-themed escape room opened in Las Vegas.

Before joining Lionsgate, Brown worked for themed experience designer Thinkwell, after a previous career as an attorney. “Her leadership, expertise, and tireless problem-solving skills instil confidence and trust that the project vision and goals will be achieved,” said former Thinkwell colleague Kelly Ryner.

Thierry Coup, senior VP and chief creative officer at Universal Creative, boasts an exceptional pedigree when it comes to the creation of themed entertainment experiences. For the past 30 years, he has worked in a variety of creative roles with both Universal and Disney.

“It’s been an incredible ride for me,” he told the website of Universal’s parent company, Comcast. “Doing what I do, you feel lucky if you worked on one big attraction like The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man or The Simpsons Ride. But I’ve worked on a half of a dozen or so, and it keeps getting better and better.”

Comcast has revealed that Epic Universe, the fourth theme park at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, is expected to open by summer 2025. Previously, the company opened Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan and Universal Beijing Resort. The Beijing destination includes the fourth global iteration of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, one of Coup’s crowning achievements.

Since the publication of this list, Coup left Universal for a position as chief experiential futurist at JOCOUP Creative.

Emily Dow is paving the way for embedding sustainability into Walt Disney Imagineering’s processes. She is the Design Studio executive for Imagineering and the co-leader of the global Design & Delivery Studio, where she leads the interdisciplinary design team that creates the built worlds of Disney’s theme parks, resorts, and cruise ships. Her team includes master planning, sustainability, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, graphic design, and theme lighting design.

The company has announced an ambitious set of environmental goals for 2030. It is aiming for net-zero Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030, zero-carbon electricity, water stewardship, low-impact materials, zero waste in operations, and a science-based target for Scope 3 emissions by the end of 2022.

“We’re also striving toward 90% construction waste diversion in our US and in our European markets this decade,” said Dow, in conversation with blooloop in 2022. “We added this very specific focus and call to action for sustainable design. It holistically brings together all of these different goals to make sure that we have a clear mission. Every single new project that we deliver at Walt Disney Imagineering is designed to meet our commitments.”

Before holding this position, Dow was the global leader of design strategy for the Design and Planning Studio. Prior to being a studio leader, she was a senior design manager for the Shanghai Disney Resort project. For this role, she relocated to China for multiple years to lead an international team of designers, architects and engineers to design and execute the two themed areas of Mickey Avenue and Gardens of Imagination.

Throughout Dow’s 18-year WDI career she has contributed as both a designer and leader to bring Disney stories to life across the globe and is a strong advocate of sustainable design. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s School of Architecture and Interior Design and a Cincinnatus Presidential Scholarship recipient.

As a key part of the team that built Merlin Entertainments up into the world’s second-largest attraction operator, Mark 'Fish' Fisher is its chief development officer. “I don’t think there’s one bit of Merlin I haven’t been MD of at some stage,” he says of the company.

Fisher started his career in the industry at the age of 16, performing as a costumed character at Alton Towers. Later, in the marketing department at Alton, he would meet Merlin founder Nick Varney. Over the past decade, they have helped the company consolidate its market position through a continued focus on the development of branded experiences.

In addition to rolling out new ‘Midway’ attractions under the Madame Tussauds, Sea Life, Little Big City and Dungeons brands, Merlin has expanded the global footprint of Legoland by opening new theme parks in the USA and Asia. In 2021, Merlin started construction on the world’s largest Legoland Resort, a $1bn attraction in Shenzhen, China.

Fisher retired from Merlin in 2022

Philippe Gas is at the helm of Qiddiya Investment Company as CEO. With 30 years' experience at the Walt Disney Company, Gas has a deep understanding of entertainment and hospitality. His most recent position was president and managing director of Walt Disney Attractions Japan & Disney International, where he oversaw the development of Tokyo Disney Resort.

During his time at Disney, Gas served in other roles. He was CEO of Euro Disney SCA from 2008 until 2014. He also successfully led the launch of Shanghai Disney Resort, Disney’s first theme park in mainland China. Qiddiya aims to be the capital of entertainment, sports and arts in Saudi Arabia. Located close to Riyadh, it will offer a range of attractions, including Six Flags Qiddiya.

“Qiddiya is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to develop an unforgettable offering that will transform entertainment for an entire region and create cherished memories for current and future generations,” said Gas. “The Qiddiya team has delivered a lot in a short amount of time and it is my honor to take the helm at this critical juncture so that together, we can launch an incredible new entertainment experience to the world.”

One of the most ambitious projects in Europe, the London Resort won’t just be a world-class leisure destination. "It will also be one of the most sustainable theme parks on the planet," says CEO PY Gerbeau.

The London Resort aims to be the world's first operationally carbon neutral theme park. It will deliver a net biodiversity gain and will create a green network of amenity areas and parkland.The London Resortannounced the first businesses chosen to help create the attractionin October 2021.Independent analysis estimates that 6.5 million guests will visitthe London Resortin 2025, increasing to 12.5 million visitors by 2038. This means the destination would rank as the biggest theme park in Europe, ahead of Disneyland Paris.

The former vice president of operations at Disneyland Paris, Gerbeau made his name in the UK when he transformed the fortunes of the Millennium Dome back in 2000. He went on to found the indoor ski slope operator X-Leisure.

Since the publication of this list in 2019, Gerbeau has stood down from his role at the London Resort, in 2022

Andrew Kam is CEO of Asia Pacific at Haichang Ocean Park Holdings Ltd., one of China's most prominent developers and operators of marine theme parks and family entertainment destinations. Haichang Ocean Park Holdings, founded in 2001 and headquartered in Shanghai, operates a network of ocean-themed parks across China. It offers attractions such as aquariums, marine animal shows, and educational programs emphasising conservation and marine life protection.

Kam is currently responsible for developing Haichang’s business outside of China's Asia-Pacific region, as well as operations, management, and intellectual property. In 2023, Kam led Haichang Ocean Park to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Tourism Development Fund of Saudi Arabia on the development of a world-class integrated marine theme park resort in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The resort is slated to be the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and represents significant progress in the group’s benchmark project for ‘going global’.

Kam’s background includes a strong foundation in strategic planning, international market development, and operational excellence, making him well-suited to lead Haichang’s growth initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region.

His focus on innovation also extends to incorporating eco-friendly practices and marine conservation messaging into Haichang’s operations and attractions, which helps differentiate the parks by promoting sustainability and raising environmental awareness. Haichang Ocean Parks are known for their emphasis on marine life and environmental conservation, and Andrew Kam champions these values.

Before joining Haichang, he was president of the China Cultural Tourism Group (CCTG), where he helped the company expand into developing and managing theme parks and leisure destinations across China and internationally.

Previously, Kam served as senior vice president of Beijing Wanda Cultural Industry Group, where he oversaw Wanda’s theme park investments. This came after his role as executive vice president and managing director of Hong Kong Disneyland, where he led daily operations and growth.

Tom Mehrmann previously served as the president and general manager of Universal Resort Beijing. One of the most high-profile theme park projects in the world, Universal Beijing opened to tens of thousands of visitors in September 2021.

Universal Beijing’s launch came after 20 years of planning and construction. The attraction merges popular Universal experiences with Chinese culture across seven themed lands. These include Universal’s first Kung Fu Panda land, the world’s largest Minion Land, the world’s first Transformers-themed land, and Universal’s first WaterWorld land. Additional lands are inspired by Hollywood, Jurassic World and Harry Potter.

Mehrmann began his career in the theme park industry as a groundskeeper at Knott’s Berry Farm near Los Angeles. Progressing into park management, he went on to run Six Flag Discovery Kingdom, Warner Bros Movie World (now Parque Warner) in Madrid and Ocean Park, Hong Kong.

Mehrmann had a hugely successful tenure at Ocean Park and wrote a book about his experiences, Taming the Mouse: How a Small Hong Kong Theme Park Came to Dominate Disney.

Choni Fernandez Vecianais the director of central services and sustainability at PortAventura, thefirst carbon neutral theme parkin the world. She joined the company in 2007 and holds a Diploma in Business Sciences and a degree in economics from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Oviedo. Fernandez Veciana is a key player in PortAventura’s efforts to minimise its environmental footprint.

In 2020, PortAventura World became the first carbon-neutral theme park. The attraction will now offset 100 percent of the direct emissions generated. Its programmes include a large solar energy plant, plastic elimination targets and the first carbon-neutral hotel, Colorado Creek.

“The carbon-neutral resort project is integrated into the global corporate responsibility strategy that guides the company’s decision-making to continue being a benchmark in sustainable tourism,” Fernandez Veciana said. “Our strategic approach also demands that we integrate compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), defined in the 2030 Agenda, into our management in order to continue generating value.”

She is not content just to rest at carbon neutral, however. Speaking atgreenloop 2022, Fernandez Veciana outlined the next steps in decarbonisation for one of the most sustainable theme parks & resorts in the world and explained how and why PortAventura is adopting Science Based Targets.

“We are preparing a process where, first, you need to commit. You need to work on the reduction targets of your emissions. You need to submit your targets to SBTi, and outline how you are going to meet them. They then need to approve your process for this reduction, and at that point you can announce your target, reporting on how your strategy is going over the following years.

"For Scope 1 and Scope 2, our goal is to be below 1.5 degrees. Our Science Based Targets are aligned with this pathway. That means that we need an average annual reduction of 4.2% in emissions. In the case of scope three, we have to choose a softer way to decrease our emissions, because of the difficulty in moving our supply chain. Here, our target is to go below two degrees. That means that we need an average annual reduction of 2.5%.”

Recognised as a visionary CEO at the CEO Middle East Awards, Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi manages Miral’s growing portfolio of leisure and entertainment assets on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. They include Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi and the CLYMB indoor adventure sports hub.

These attractions and their infrastructure are a key part of the Emirate’s mission to create a sustainable, diversified and globally integrated economy. That means delivering world-class experiences that attract visitors far beyond the UAE’s borders. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi opened in May 2023. The new park features attractions never seen at a SeaWorld site and the world’s largest aquarium.

Al Zaabi describes the attraction as offering “engaging and immersive family-friendly experiences, featuring up-close animal encounters, state-of-the-art aquariums, dynamic animal habitats, thrill rides, interactive educational experiences, inspiring entertainment as well as dining and shopping experiences.”

Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, Miral CEO since 2015, has over a decade of experience in project management and leadership roles, previously with real estate developer Aldar Properties. He also holds board positions at Farah Experiences (operator of Yas Island’s attractions) and Experience Hub, Yas’s trade and promotion arm.

The world’s first Warner Bros. hotel opened on Yas Island in 2021. The WB Abu Dhabi, adjacent to Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, features a huge collection of Warner Bros. archives, including more than 400 images and props from Warner Bros. films and TV shows.

Meanwhile, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi launched its first-ever drone show in the summer of 2022, offering an “infinite amount of adrenaline and excitement”, as it said in a news release. Guests watched as turbocharged drones create colourful images under the iconic red roof. The park also added live cooking demonstrations, shows, craft areas, and an oversized board game over the summer.

Blooloop has named Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld, and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi among the top 15 theme parks and water parks in the Middle East.