SeaWorld CEO Steps Down From Struggling Theme-Park Operator

(Bloomberg) -- SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.’s top executive unexpectedly stepped down, the latest upheaval in a years-long turnaround effort in which the theme-park operator has struggled with falling attendance and bad press.

The sudden departure of Chief Executive Officer Joel Manby could offset some upside from the latest quarter, Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Steven Wieczynski said Tuesday after the company reported adjusted earnings that beat the highest analyst estimate. 

SeaWorld is “by no means out of the woods,” Wieczynski wrote in a note to investors. The shares fell 1.5 percent to $15.50 at 12:20 p.m. in New York as the broader market slumped.

Manby took the helm of the Orlando, Florida-based company a little less than three years ago after the 2013 documentary “Blackfish” spurred an identity crisis. The film criticized SeaWorld’s treatment of killer whales featured in its star shows. Since then, Manby has fired workers, ended the company’s orca-breeding program and opened new attractions. Results have been mixed, however, and he leaves as park attendance continues to slump.

Interim Replacement

SeaWorld Chairman Yoshikazu Maruyama said on a conference call with investors that the board and Manby decided that this was a good time for an executive transition. Manby didn’t participate on the call. Chief Parks Operations Officer John Reilly was named interim CEO.

Manby’s departure comes following changes in SeaWorld’s shareholder base. Blackstone Group, the private equity firm that had controlled the theme-park operator for a number of years, sold its remaining shares last March to Zhonghong Zhouoye Group, a tourism company based in China. Maruyama is president of Zhonghong’s American operations. In November Scott Ross, founder of the investment firm Hill Path Capital, SeaWorld’s second-largest shareholder, took a seat on the board with the aim of improving performance.

Reilly said he started working at the SeaWorld-owned park Busch Gardens Williamsburg as a cashier at a drink stand in 1985.

“I’m really excited to be here today and to take on this new role,” he said on the call.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jessica Brice in Sao Paulo at jbrice1@bloomberg.net, Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles at cpalmeri1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Crayton Harrison at tharrison5@bloomberg.net, Tony Robinson, Jessica Brice

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