Six Flags Abruptly Replaces CEO Even as Park Traffic Recovers

(Bloomberg) -- Six Flags Entertainment Corp. named Selim Bassoul as chief executive officer, immediately replacing Michael Spanos, whose two-year tenure included a brutal stretch of pandemic-induced shutdowns and restrictions for theme parks.

Former Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza was named the new non-executive chairman, the company said Monday in a statement. Baldanza thanked Spanos for his service, but Six Flags didn’t say why he was leaving so abruptly. Stephen Purtell, the senior vice president for investor relations, didn’t respond to phone and email messages Monday.

Even before the pandemic, the Grand Prairie, Texas-based company had slashed its dividend and warned of lower profits because of higher wages and lower revenue from international deals. The company began to emerge from lockdown with reopenings starting in June 2020, and by last quarter park attendance was at 92% of 2019 levels. 

The stock rose 2.4% at 9:50 a.m. in New York trading. Six Flag shares are now up 22% this year, trailing the 25% gain of the S&P 500 index. 

Bassoul, 64, is the former CEO of Middleby Corp., which makes appliances for commercial kitchens and homes. He surprised investors by stepping down from that role in early 2019. 

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