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Theme Park Academy S2E5: leadership training expert, Matt Heller

Three men on a video call for "Theme Park Academy" podcast, with colorful backgrounds.

In this episode, Adam and Mark are joined by leadership training expert and fellow podcaster, Matt Heller, to talk all things training and development.

Matt’s career in the theme park industry began back in theme park operations, working with Valleyfair and then Universal Orlando, training team members.


Matt soon realised there’s a huge gap in the market for developing skillset and leadership training, so formed his own business, Performance Optimist Consulting.

Tune in as we dive into Matt’s background and discuss what it takes to become a great leader in the theme park industry.

Theme Park Academy

Produced in partnership with blooloop, Theme Park Academy explores the hidden facets of the theme park business.

Hosted by industry insiders Mark Lofthouse (senior manager of business development at RWS Global) and Adam Sandy (roller coaster sales and marketing director at Zamperla), the podcast is a go-to source for everything theme park-related, whether listeners are trying to break into the field or are looking to deepen their understanding.

Previous episodes have looked at the challenges of opening new parks, culture and community, industry trends, next-generation theme park design, nostalgia, Dollywood, and haunts.

Check out all podcast episodes here.