Momentum Leisure Appoints New CMO & CFO
f.l.t.r.: Tom van der Sommen, Wouter Dekkers & Roland Gerets | Photo: Courtesy of Momentum Leisure
(eap) Momentum Leisure, developer and operator of theme parks in Central and Eastern Europe, has appointed two new directors. Roland Gerets will become the new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Tom van der Sommen the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Gerets has more than 30 years of experience in sales and marketing, also in the leisure and entertainment industry. Among others, Gerets served for the former British theme park operator StarParks. Tom van der Sommen has a broad financial background with positions in the private equity and leisure sectors.
“With Roland and Tom, we have a strong management team with whom we can continue to shape the growth ambitions of our company. Both have a great passion for the world of leisure and entertainment and bring a lot of experience to the table. Recently, we have already been working together to prepare the company for the next phase. We see great opportunities to further expand our positioning now that we are working with the Smurfs, PAW Patrol and SpongeBob SquarePants in addition to the well-known characters Maya the Bee and Vicky the Viking,” says Wouter Dekkers, CEO of Momentum Leisure. The company just opened its third theme park in Poland, Majaland Gdańsk, at the end of June (see our cover story in EAP 5/2024) – for the first time, there are also other than the beloved Studio 100 characters to enjoy at Majaland. Plans for a fourth park in Gliwice in southern Poland are already well advanced.
Martijn van Rheenen, CEO of the parent company Momentum Capital, adds: “It was with great pleasure and pride that I handed over the baton to Wouter Dekkers in April, who is one of the most experienced entrepreneurs in the world of amusement and theme parks. The company is in good hands with him; Momentum Leisure will end this year successfully. As Momentum Capital, we are very proud that we have been able to bring this investment to maturity in just a few years as a social impact investor. The decision to develop leisure in Central and Eastern Europe has proven to be the right one. We welcome Roland and Tom on board and look forward to a successful future.” ■
