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IAAPA appoints Jakob Wahl as upcoming CEO and president

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IAAPA Jakob Wahl president

IAAPA, the global association for the attractions industry, announced this week that Jakob Wahl has been selected as the association’s new president and CEO effective 1 January 2023 ahead of IAAPA Expo 2022. He will succeed current president and CEO, Hal McEvoy, who will retire in April.

Wahl will oversee the 94-member team of the association in Orlando, Brussels, Hong Kong, Mexico City, and Shanghai in his capacity as president and CEO. He will be in charge of the association’s executive management and daily operations in addition to serving as the IAAPA Board of Directors’ top strategic advisor on all issues pertaining to the association’s mission, activities, events, and goods and services.

“Jakob is the right person to lead the IAAPA team into the future,” says chair of the CEO Search Committee, and IAAPA treasurer Curt Caffey. “Jakob’s vision for IAAPA is focused on adapting the association for today’s fast-paced, change-driven world, and enhancing the value of IAAPA membership through our regional offices around the globe.

“He has a keen sense of balance between taking risks and driving the organisation’s success, and he plans to accelerate the association’s delivery of digital products and services for IAAPA members.

“He has an international perspective, strong connections with IAAPA members around the world, and he is respected by the IAAPA team. Those attributes, combined with his extraordinary passion for the attractions industry, make him the ideal leader for the association.”

A decade of leadership

Wahl first joined IAAPA in 2009 as the organization’s programme manager for Europe before serving as head of communications and manager of special initiatives for Europa-Park in Rust, Germany, from 2013. 

In 2017, Wahl rejoined IAAPA to serve as vice president and executive director of IAAPA EMEA, leading the organization’s team in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In November 2021, he received a promotion to executive vice president and chief operations officer of the association, and he and his family then relocated to Orlando.

Following a seven-month process overseen by the IAAPA CEO Search Committee with assistance from executive search company Korn Ferry International, Wahl was chosen as the new CEO. A total of six IAAPA Board members, including three former chairs, made up the committee.

Challenging years

The extensive screening procedure and numerous rounds of interviews used in the global search process resulted in the identification of an impressive list of highly competent applicants from the associations and attractions sectors. The IAAPA Board of Directors accepted the committee’s recommendation to nominate Wahl as the organization’s new president and CEO.

As the current president and CEO, McEvoy will oversee the association until the end of the year. He will continue to assist Wahl in a special advisory role from 1 January until his retirement on 1 April 2023.

“We greatly appreciate the twelve-month notice Hal gave us for his retirement as that has allowed us to plan for a smooth and orderly transition,” says IAAPA Board Chairman and president of Whiting’s Foods at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Ken Whiting. “Hal has done an amazing job leading the association for the past five years with some of the most challenging years in the association’s 104-year history. We greatly appreciate all Hal has done to lead the association and support the IAAPA team. I am confident Jakob is the right leader to build on Hal’s legacy of success.”

Prerparations are currently underway for IAAPA Expo, returning to Orlando’s Orange County Convention Centre from 14-18 November 2022.

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Adam Whittaker

Adam studied Marketing and Advertising Management at Leeds Beckett University. Originally from Lancashire and now based in Norfolk, UK, you can usually find him appreciating art deco design or on a roller coaster.

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