Merlin Entertainments has announced the appointment of Justin Platt to the newly created position of Chief Strategy Officer, reporting to Nick Varney, Chief Executive Officer.
Having joined Merlin in 2011, Justin has been Managing Director, Resort Theme Parks since 2015. With over 25 years’ experience across a range of international organisations, he has previously held a number of senior Marketing roles across GSK, Kellogg’s and AstraZeneca.
Justin will be replaced as Managing Director of Resort Theme Parks by Fiona Eastwood. Fiona has most recently been the Global Marketing Director for Midway. Prior to that, Fiona held a number of senior positions at BBC Worldwide, including Managing Director of the Consumer Products Division and Director of Brands, Global Markets.
Nick Varney, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Merlin’s central purpose is to deliver memorable experiences to our guests. We now operate across a breadth of global markets with diverse consumer dynamics and evolving market opportunities. To continue to be successful in this environment it is vital that we are truly consumer-driven in our business, ensuring the ‘Merlin view of the consumer’ is paramount. The new Chief Strategy Officer role is therefore critical in maximizing the significant prospects available to Merlin by informing, shaping and driving the company’s global strategy in the context of an ever-evolving market backdrop.
“Our Resort Theme Parks business is in good hands with Fiona, who has a proven track record of creating and executing brand strategies and has significant experience of working with Intellectual Property holders to drive growth. This will prove invaluable as we continue to develop our theme parks into immersive, multi-day destination resorts.
“Having worked alongside Justin and Fiona for a number of years, I am confident of the continued benefits they will each bring to their new roles.”