Orlando, Fl., USA - December 12, 2014, Orlando, Fl., USA - SeaWorld Entertainment announced that chairman David F. D'Alessandro will serve as the company's interim CEO from January 15, 2015. CEO Jim Atchison will become vice chairman.
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Mr. D'Alessandro has been the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company since 2010.
He served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of John Hancock Financial Services from 2000 to 2004, having served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the same entity from 1996 to 2000.
Mr. D'Alessandro led the company in its successful initial public offering in 2000 and through a subsequent merger with ManuLife Financial Corporation in 2004.
He is a former Partner of the Boston Red Sox.
He currently serves on the board of directors of APX Group Holdings, Inc. (the parent holding company and 100% owner of Vivint, Inc.), and Vivint Solar.
Mr. D'Alessandro is the author of three national bestselling business books.
A graduate of Syracuse University, he holds honorary doctorates from three colleges and serves as vice chairman of Boston University.
Current CEO and President, Jim Atchison, will become Vice Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Atchison has been a director, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company since 2009.
He served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Busch Entertainment Corporation from 2007 to 2009, as Executive Vice President and General Manager of SeaWorld Orlando from 2003 to 2007 and as Vice President of Marketing of the same entity from 2002 to 2003.
Prior to that, Mr. Atchison was the Vice President of Finance of Busch Gardens Tampa from 1998 to 2002.
He is also a member of the board of directors of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund and Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, and he is also a member of the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees.
Mr. Atchison holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of South Florida and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Central Florida.
The Board of Directors appointed two new independent directors, The Honorable Ellen Tauscher and William Gray.
Ms. Tauscher currently serves as a strategic advisor at the Washington DC law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC.
She has spent much of her career in public service, most notably representing California's 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
During her 12 years in Congress, Ms. Tauscher served on the House Armed Services Committee and chaired the Strategic Forces subcommittee.
She left Congress in 2009 to join the U.S. State Department as Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.
She also served as special envoy for Strategic Stability and Missile Defense at State.
Prior to serving in Congress, Ms. Tauscher worked in investment banking and the financial industry in various roles for Bache Halsey Stuart Shields, Bear Stearns & Co., Drexel Burnham Lambert and as an officer of the American Stock Exchange.
From 1977 to 1980, she was a member of the New York Stock Exchange representing Bache Halsey Stuart Shields.
In 2012, Ms. Tauscher was named vice chair of the Atlantic Council's Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security.
Last year she became independent board chairman of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a coalition of 26 retailers and clothing brands led by Walmart.
Ms. Tauscher, a Seton Hall University graduate, serves on a variety of boards, including Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC.
She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Mr. Gray is currently a co-founder and director of Hulls Highway, Inc., a consulting firm.
Since 2010, he has also been a senior advisor to Blackstone, a leading global investment and advisory firm and minority shareholder of SeaWorld Entertainment.
Prior to joining Blackstone, he was North American Co-Chief Executive and Vice Chairman of Ogilvy North America, one of the world's largest communications companies.
Mr. Gray served as the President of Ogilvy & Mather Inc. from 1997 to 2005 and Managing Director of Ogilvy Advertising New York from 1994 to 1996.
He held other positions of increasing responsibility from the time he joined Ogilvy & Mather Inc. as an Assistant Account Executive in 1978.
He retired from Ogilvy in 2010 after more than three decades of service.
Mr. Gray is a trustee of the Century Family of Mutual Funds and an independent director of HealthMarkets, Inc.
He is a past Board Chairman of the American Red Cross of New York and is currently a member of the board of directors of the New York Public Library. ■