Orlando, Fl., USA - April 18, 2016, Orlando, Fl., USA - SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc., a theme park and entertainment company, announced that Ron Bension has joined the board.
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Mr. Bension serves as President of House of Blues Entertainment for Live Nation. Mr. Bension is focused on consolidating the 50 venues that he directly manages into a national platform, creating new touring products and improved consumer experiences.
Prior to his role as President of House of Blues Entertainment, Mr. Bension was CEO of TicketsNow, working with the team at Ticketmaster to restructure the resale site's operations and business initiatives. During his more than 30-year career, he has led several major e-commerce, recreation and entertainment companies to financial and strategic success.
Previously, Mr. Bension was CEO of WMG's Sportnet, a developer and operator of action sports websites in the country. He also held principal roles as CEO of Tickets.com, where he restructured the fledgling online ticketing technology and service provider. He also managed the company's relationships with the 2002 Winter Olympics and the World Series. He then oversaw Tickets.com's 2005 sale to Major League Baseball.
Prior to Tickets.com, Mr. Bension was President and CEO of Sega GameWorks, a multi-unit, location-based entertainment company founded by Steven Spielberg. He was honored for his achievements with the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2001.
Mr. Bension also served as Chairman and CEO of Universal Studios Recreation Group, a division of Universal Studios, where he oversaw the global leisure recreation company and was responsible for running all aspects of Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida in addition to developing international theme park joint ventures.
He also was heavily involved in the planning and development of Universal's expansion in Florida with the creation of the Islands of Adventure theme park, City Walk, and the Universal Resort Hotels.
Mr. Bension holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from California State University, Los Angeles. He is the founder of Discover A Star Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides scholarships to financially challenged, high-achieving high school graduates.
He is succeeding Jim Atchison who has decided to step down as a director but will remain a consultant to the company.
Donald C. Robinson, formerly the Executive Vice President of Hong Kong Disneyland, has been nominated for election at the 2016 Annual Meeting to fill the seat left vacant by Joe Baratta, Global Head of Private Equity at Blackstone, who will retire from the Board upon the election of his successor.
Mr. Robinson recently retired as the president and chief operating officer for All Aboard Florida, the country's first privately owned intercity passenger rail system that will connect South Florida to Orlando, where he served from March 2012 until December 2014. Prior to this, from February 2006 to September 2012, he served as president of Baha Mar Ltd., a luxury resort company.
Previously, Mr. Robinson served in various capacities for The Walt Disney Company from June 1972 to January 2006, including as Group Managing Director and Executive Vice President of Hong Kong Disneyland from 2001 to 2006, as Senior Vice President of Operations at Walt Disney World Operations from 1998 to 2001.
He served as Senior Vice President/Vice President of Walt Disney World Resorts from 1995 to 1998, and as Opening General Manager of Disney's All-Star Resorts, Walt Disney World, from 1993 to 1995.
He also served as Opening General Manager of Newport Bay Club at Disneyland Paris from 1992 to 1993, Director of Corporate Rooms and Related Services at Disney Theme Parks & Resorts from 1988 to 1992, and General Manager of Disney's Golf Resort, Walt Disney World from 1987 to 1988.
Overall, Mr. Robinson was responsible for the operation of four theme parks, three water parks, 30,000 hotel rooms, over 200 restaurants (including QSR, Table Service, Fine Dining, Bars, Lounges and Convention Catering), five golf courses, and Disney's Wide World of Sports.
During his 33-year career with Disney, he was involved with the opening phase of two theme parks, one water park, a retail/dining/entertainment venue, and 12 resort hotels on three continents. He also assisted in the planning and development of two resort hotels in Tokyo, Japan, working with the Oriental Land Company owners.
Mr. Robinson has also served on the board of directors of Denny's Corporation, a casual restaurant business, since March 2008, and is on a local advisory board of BB&T Corporation in Orlando, Florida. ■