José Díaz appointed Chief Executive of Parques Reunidos

Global attractions operator Parques Reunidos has announced the appointment of José Díaz as its new Chief Executive, replacing Fernando Eiroa.

Díaz was chosen as the board deemed him capable of contributing to the accomplishment of four goals: further improving the process of operational optimisation, enhancing the focus on the company’s core business, fostering corporate acquisitions, and ensuring an appropriate business model for the indoor entertainment centres.

Díaz was previously Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Spain-based operator between 2004 and 2013. He has held other executive positions, including Marketing and Loyalty Director at Continente - and subsequently at European retailer Carrefour, as well as General Manager at Aspro Ocio and General Manager at Aurgi.

Commenting on the appointment, Chairman of the Board, Richard Golding advised “I am delighted to have José Díaz back at Parques Reunidos. We were lucky to have him among our team for 10 years at the time of Parques Reunidos’ transformation into the multinational we know today. His deep knowledge of the industry and his experience with the company will enable him to contribute, from his first day, optimising the results of our portfolio of parks, thus creating value for our shareholders.”

Parques Reunidos, which has owned Wet’n’Wild Sydney since last year, announced revenue of €583.1 million (US$680 million) in the fiscal year 2018, as well as a number of investments for the new year.

It was a record year for the company’s operations in Spain, with strong attendance boosting revenue by 4%. The rest of Europe also performed strongly. In the US revenue grew 0.6%, after performance was negatively impacted by adverse weather conditions

The company is currently developing four expansion projects for 2019, representing a total investment of €70 million (US$80 million).

In December, the company opened the Atlantis Aquarium in Madrid Xanadú - the first aquarium in Spain to be free of single-use plastics, and hopes to educate the public about the threat affecting marine biodiversity and the whole food chain