Matthew Ouimet, 53, has been named president of Cedar Fair and will succeed Dick Kinzel as chief executive on Jan. 3.
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Matthew Ouimet, new president and soon-to-be CEO of Cedar FairSANDUSKY, Ohio -- Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. has hired a former Disney executive to lead the Sandusky-based amusement park chain when Dick Kinzel retires early next year.
Matthew Ouimet, 53, has been named president of Cedar Fair and will succeed Kinzel as chief executive on Jan. 3.
Ouimet, a 20-year veteran of the amusement park and hospitality industry, was at the Walt Disney Co. for 17 of those years. He worked in an array of business lines with increasing levels of responsibility, Cedar Fair said in a statement (pdf) this morning.
Highlights of his tenure at Disney include serving as:
• Senior vice president, finance and business development, and chief financial officer, responsible for the financial management of Disney's resort, theme park and corporate real estate projects in California, Florida and France.
• Executive general manager of Disney Vacation Club, during which time Disney established itself as a major competitor in the timeshare industry.
• President of Disney Cruise Line, where his team built the "most successful family cruise product in the industry," Cedar Fair said.
• President of the Disneyland Resort, where he and his team developed a comprehensive strategic plan "that resulted in significantly improved and sustained performance for Disneyland's 50th anniversary and beyond," Cedar Fair said.
In 2006, Ouimet was recruited to serve as president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, overseeing 900owned, managed and franchised hotel properties in 95 countries. Starwood's hotel brands include St Regis, Westin, Sheraton, W Hotels and five other chains.
In 2008, Ouimet joined Corinthian Colleges, a $2 billion, publicly held, post-secondary education company that operates in the United States and Canada.
"Without question, Matt is the right leader to join Cedar Fair now as it builds momentum on its renewed path of sustained, profitable growth in 2011 and beyond," said C. Thomas Harvie, independent chairman.
"Throughout his career, Matt has proven to be a critical thinker and effective business strategist with an enviable track record for identifying growth opportunities within existing businesses in the amusement park and resort industry. His broad and diverse background in resort development, finance, marketing and operations will allow him to integrate quickly into Cedar Fair. "
Harvie said Cedar Fair's board considered many highly qualified candidates during the search for a replacement for Kinzel, led by executive search firm Korn/Ferry International.
"Matt is an impressive business and operational executive whose character and values will be a greatcomplement to the strong Cedar Fair culture," said Kinzel, 72. "I look forward to working with him over the coming months to ensure a seamless leadership transition."
Ouimet said he was thrilled to join Cedar Fair and "particularly pleased to have the opportunity to work closely with Dick Kinzel and to continue to build on his legacy in years to come. Cedar Fair is a wonderful company -- its properties are vibrant and extremely well run, its reputation is superb, and the record-setting 2010 performance has put us on a path to deliver the positive financial results Cedar Fair has long been known for."