Another SeaWorld CEO Bites the Dust

April 6, 2020, 11:17 AM · And another one's gone, another one's gone, another bites the dust....

SeaWorld Entertainment has reported to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that its CEO of four months, Sergio D. Rivera, will resign from that position.

Rivera was SeaWorld's third full-time CEO in past two years. Counting interim CEOs, the count stands at five, with Marc Swanson now returning as interim CEO of the theme park company. The Orlando Sentinel quotes an analyst who blames the revolving door in the C suite on clashes with majority stockholder and board chairman, Scott Ross of the private equity firm Hill Path Capital.

Both Rivera and previous CEO Gustavo Antorcha cited conflicts with the SeaWorld board as the reasons for their departures. Ross took over as chairman of the board in July 2019, two months before Antorcha left.

SeaWorld's stock is trading around $10 a share today, up from the March 19 low of $7.23, but still down considerably from the mid-$30 range where it was trading just two months ago. Low stock prices can make companies takeover targets, but the entire theme park industry is in bad shape financially right now, as the travel industry is suffering the most among all businesses enduring the strain of reduced or shuttered operations due to the pandemic.

Replies (3)

April 6, 2020 at 11:47 AM

Apparently Gordon Gekko is running Sea Worlds board

April 6, 2020 at 12:41 PM

That would keep with the animal theme, right?

April 6, 2020 at 11:59 PM

I repeat my joke from last year: The CEO of Sea World is the theme park exec version of the drummer for Spinal Tap.

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