In his role as chief development officer, Jonny Moran leads the planning and construction of all new lodging & second gates and strategic master planning for Parques Reunidos.
He previously worked for Universal, starting as director of pricing & strategic initiatives at Universal Studios Hollywood, before becoming senior director of business development, leading a newly created business development team. Key projects that he worked on during this time included the investment & launch of CityWalk-owned and operated restaurants, the ideation and launch of the Jurassic Park 25th Celebration, and the ideation & launch of Running Universal. He also conceived the Bravo’s Top Chef Food & Wine Festival.
He then moved into the position of vice president of business development for Universal Parks & Resorts, where he was focused on launching new businesses, creating partnerships and introducing products across Universal Parks & Resorts, and leading strategy for Universal’s live and location-based entertainment portfolio. During this time, Moran worked on projects like Running Universal, the Jurassic World Live Tour, the Trolls LIVE! Tour, Trolls The Experience, A Minion’s Perspective, the Jurassic World Exhibition, and the DreamWorks Animation Exhibition.
Current projects that he is involved in at Parques Reunidos include Slagharen, 37 Red Rock Lodges, set to open in 2023 in Holland and Tropical Islands, a 150-room new hotel in Berlin, set to open in 2024.
Parques Reunidos is a global provider of entertainment, operating over 60 attractions worldwide including cable cars, zoos, water parks, family entertainment centres, and theme and amusement parks. It also acquired reputable US brands including Kennywood Entertainment Company, Dutch Wonderland, and Palace Entertainment. The organisation receives over 22 million visitors annually to its attractions, bringing in about $570 million in revenue. In 2008 it had the fifth-highest attendance figures for worldwide chains with 24.9 million, ahead of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and Cedar Fair.