SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby Resigns After Turnaround Effort Flops
Photo Caption: Joel Manby resigned as SeaWorld CEO this week, the company announced Tuesday. He is pictured in an appearance on CBS.
Skift Take
This was probably inevitable. Joel Manby tried to turn the company around, but his efforts failed to do the trick. Executives say they plan to continue his strategies, but we wonder how much will change once a permanent new CEO is named.
Joel Manby, the outsider named to rescue SeaWorld three years ago, has stepped down as president and CEO, the company announced Tuesday.
His replacement, at least for now, is a longtime company insider. John Reilly, the chief parks operation officer who once led the SeaWorld San Diego park, is interim CEO until a new leader is chosen by the board of directors.
Manby's resignation, which was effective Monday, came as the company announced another year of losses and declining attendance. SeaWorld has struggled since the 2013 release of the documentary Blackfish, which was highly critical of the company's treatment of captive orcas. The company is under federal investigation for publicly downplaying the film's impact.
"Over the past three years, Joel has worked tirelessly to strengthen SeaWorld's position as a company that combines entertainment, education, and its important mission to protect marine life and the oceans," Yoshikazu Maruyama, interim executive chairman, said in a
