Merlin Entertainments Appoint NEW CEO!
Merlin Entertainments have announced the appointment of their new CEO today. Fiona Eastwood, the company’s former COO (Chief Operating Officer) stepped in as interim CEO following the departure of Scott O’Neil in November 2024.
Today however, the announcement of Scott’s replacement was made announcing Fiona Eastwood’s new permanent appointment to the role.
Fiona first joined Merlin Entertainments in the role of Global Marketing Director for Midway Attractions back in 2015 & has since worked her way up through the company to role of COO in 2019, however today marks the start of her most ambitious role yet.
Announcing her new appointment earlier today (Monday 17th February 2025), Merlin Entertainments stated;
“We are thrilled to share that Fiona Eastwood has today been announced as Chief Executive Officer of Merlin Entertainments, with immediate effect. This exciting appointment will support the implementation of Merlin’s transformational strategy, and to ensure that we can continue to grow at scale and deliver a sustainable, thriving future.“
Speaking about her new appointment as CEO, Fiona Eastwood goes on to state;
“It’s an honour to be chosen to lead Merlin. It is a truly world class company, with remarkable global reach and impact. Over the past decade, I have seen first hand what the business is capable of. My task, as CEO, is to lead Merlin to new heights, with a focus on performance, creativity, operational excellence and guest experience. Together, we will drive growth at scale and help Merlin reach its full potential.”
Fiona Eastwood’s appointment is said to mark the start of a “Transformational Era” for the global attractions operator who are set to open the world’s first Peppa Pig Theme Park in Dallas, TX and the first LEGOLAND Resort in China with LEGOLAND Shanghai later this year.
Merlin Entertainments do however seem to be in a rather uncertain position as of late with a potential sale of some UK SEA LIFE Centres currently on the cards and redundancies being made company wide.
It was also recently been announced that the company’s current UK theme parks will be moving away from providing year round entertainment in most cases with a lot of the entertainments teams being let go as a result.
It’s therefore hoped that Fiona recognises the situation the company is currently in and makes all necessary efforts to breath new life into all aspects of Merlin Entertainments securing the company’s future and making sure they’re ready to face new substantial competition here in the UK in the years ahead.
In her time with Merlin Entertainments Fiona has said to have been responsible for driving strategy and marketing across an expanding portfolio of brands, therefore we hope she can use the same initiative to help the company thrive and grow in the years to come as CEO.
Want to hear more about our thoughts on the current situation at Merlin Entertainments? Check out our latest news video linked below to find out more.