UK: Merlin Entertainments Appoints Scott M. O’Neil New Chief Executive Officer

Leadership change at British operator group Merlin Entertainments: Scott M. O’Neil was named the company’s new Chief Executive Officer – the appointment will be effective as of tomorrow, Nov 15, 2022, the group has just announced. Merlin’s current Chief Executive, Nick Varney, will retire in 2023 after 23 years at the organization, as he announced earlier this year. O’Neil (pictured) has 25 years of experience in the sports and entertainment industry, most recently serving as CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE), a U.S. portfolio of sports, entertainment and investment properties, for which he grew the company’s value from USD 415 million (approx. EUR 402 million) to USD 2.5 billion (approx. EUR 2.4 billion) through a focus on talent, culture and guest experience. Likewise, O’Neil has led some of the world’s leading sports brands such as the New York Knicks – NBA and the Philadelphia 76ers – NBA, for which he played a lead role in establishing their respective brand images.

Roland Hernandez, Chair of Merlin Entertainments, comments, “Scott has significant experience in the entertainment industry, a proven track-record of delivering business transformation, and the vision and ambition to lead Merlin through the next exciting stages of its global development. The Board has every confidence in him, and we look forward to working closely together over the coming years. I would like to reiterate the Group’s thanks to Nick for his outstanding leadership of Merlin Entertainments over the last 23 years. Merlin is one of the best leisure businesses in the world thanks to his leadership, passion, and talent and we wish him all the best in his retirement.”

Scott O’Neil, Chief Executive Officer designate, says, “I am thrilled to be joining the Merlin family. There is an extraordinarily talented management team, a driven, ambitious, hardworking, team centric, can-do culture, and a board led by KIRKBI, Blackstone and CPPIB which is committed and focused on growth and driving value. Merlin partners with some of the top global brands including LEGO^®, Sony Pictures Entertainment and HASBRO and is a business with phenomenal tailwinds, whose purpose is to bring joy and make lasting memories for families and friends around the world. Nick has built an incredible business and achieved unprecedented growth in this industry and yet there are still tremendous upside opportunities ahead to continue the momentum. We are actively building and searching for new attractions and sites. We are fortunate in that we are not constrained to a single studio or content pipeline and are seeking additional brand partners to redefine the attractions business. Merlin will also aggressively look to expand our offerings and experiences in our current attractions. I have been impressed by the talent, energy and dedication of the people at Merlin that I’ve met so far and am looking forward to working with the wider team to deliver on the exciting growth strategy.”

Nick Varney proudly looks back on his time at the head of Merlin, “I am very proud of what we have achieved at Merlin over the past 23 years. We have built an incredible business with amazing attractions and brilliant people. I have every confidence that Merlin will go from strength to strength under Scott’s leadership over the coming years.”

Merlin’s attractions include ten LEGOLAND Resort Theme Parks and hotels, six Resort Theme Parks including Alton Towers (UK), Heide Park (Germany) and Gardaland (Italy), as well as a vibrant portfolio of renowned global brands in city destinations, such as SEA LIFE aquariums, Madame Tussauds, Peppa Pig World of Play, the London Eye and Sydney Tower Eye. Merlin is continuing to expand, with three LEGOLAND Resorts in China under development and further midway attraction openings planned across the US and Asia. (eap)