Fiona Eastwood is chief operating officer of Merlin’s Midway attractions and resort theme parks, including the existing Midway portfolio, and new openings and franchise operations. These include UK parks such as Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Chessington, as well as Gardaland in Italy and Heide Park in Germany. Eastwood will continue to oversee Midway brands such as the Sea Life aquariums, Madame Tussauds, the Dungeons, and Lego Discovery Centres.
“I’m passionate about making Merlin the greatest place to work,” said Eastwood. “We have the very best set of current brands to build and develop and an amazing pipeline of IP that will transform our growth strategy across both our Midway and resort divisions.”
“I also recognise my important role as a female leader, both here at Merlin but also across the attractions industry,” she added. “I have found that being my genuine self, combined with hard work and a focus on getting the very best from people is what makes the true difference.”
Previously, Eastwood served as Merlin Entertainments’ managing director of Midway attractions. Before that, she was managing director of resort theme parks. She joined Merlin in 2015 as the global marketing director of Midway attractions. Prior to her work with Merlin, she was with BBC Worldwide, and held senior roles for one of the BBC’s biggest brands, Doctor Who.
“Under Fiona’s expanded leadership, Merlin will continue its focus on efficiently building world-class attractions with the best IP in the world, an obsession on the guest experience and a laser focus on effective marketing at our core,” said Scott O’Neil, Merlin’s chief executive officer.