Six Flags nominates four new directors
Posted
From the press release:
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: FUN) (“Six Flags” or the “Company”), the largest amusement park operator in North America, announced today it will nominate Sandy Cochran, Michael Colglazier, Felipe Dutra and Steven Hoffman, to stand for election to its Board of Directors at the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Each of the nominees, if elected, will serve as Class I Directors for a three-year term ending in 2028.
After successfully seeing the company through the first year post-merger, current directors Esi Eggleston Bracey, Michelle McKinney Frymire, D. Scott Olivet, and Enrique Ramirez Mena have each decided to resign from the Board in connection with the 2025 Annual Meeting. As such, the Six Flags Board will continue to comprise 12 directors, 10 of whom are independent.
“We thank Esi, Michelle, Scott and Enrique for their immense contributions to our legacy company boards and their valued service on the Six Flags Board during the critical, early stages of the combined company,” said Executive Chairman Selim Bassoul.
The nominations announced today follow a thorough review of the Six Flags Board of Directors and a director search process completed with the assistance of Spencer Stuart, a nationally recognized executive firm. Felipe Dutra and Steven Hoffman were identified by Six Flags shareholder Dendur Capital LP (together with its affiliates, “Dendur”).
“We’re excited at the prospect of adding Sandy, Michael, Felipe and Steven to the Six Flags Board as we work to build on our considerable momentum,” added Bassoul. “We are confident that our new nominees are uniquely qualified to help us continue advancing our strategy to unlock the full potential of the new Six Flags. We would also like to thank Dendur for its cooperative and constructive engagement throughout this process.”
Malcolm Levine, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Dendur, said “We have been long-term shareholders of Six Flags and legacy Cedar Fair because we believe in the strong fundamentals and significant potential of the business. We appreciate the Board’s commitment to enhancing its composition and willingness to collaborate to identify strong new directors. We are confident that Sandy, Michael, Felipe and Steven bring skills and experience that will help Six Flags drive profitable growth and enhance shareholder value.”
Pursuant to a cooperation agreement, Dendur has agreed to customary standstill, voting and other provisions as further described on a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nominee Biographies
Sandra (Sandy) Cochran has extensive executive level and financial experience with both public and private companies. Ms. Cochran served as president and chief executive officer of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. from 2011 through 2024. Prior to that, Ms. Cochran previously held numerous executive positions, including president and chief executive officer, at Books-A-Million, Inc. She began her career with SunTrust Banks, Inc.
Michael Colglazier is the president and chief executive officer of Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., a position he has held since 2020. Mr. Colglazier began his career in 1989 with the Walt Disney Company where he held various management positions, including serving as president of the Disney Land Resort and managing director of Disney Parks International from 2018 through 2020.
Felipe Dutra is the non-executive chairman of Waldencast PLC, a position he has held since 2021. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer of Anheuser-Busch InBev from 2004 through 2020, adding Chief Technology Officer responsibilities in 2014.
Steven Hoffman is the sole proprietor of Python Global Ventures, an investment firm he founded in 2018. Prior to that Mr. Hoffman was a partner and consumer sector head at Highline Capital Management LLC from 2001 through 2018. Mr. Hoffman began his career at Wertheim Schroder & Co. as an investment banking and private equity analyst.
I was onboard with the resumes of the first three, but the last one, ugh, nobody really needs a private equity guy on their board. They don't care or understand products, they only understand "value creation," which ironically is more likely to happen if they understand products.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Waldencast says "We embarked on this journey accompanied by Thoreau’s Walden advising us to advance confidently in the direction of our dreams, to live a life with purpose, to make ourselves of value" and of course Henry David Thoreau was a big believer in beauty products.
Just in case folks are keeping score at home:
- 3 out of 4 board members on the "People, Culture and Compensation Committee" just resigned.
- 2 of the 3 Chairpersons are resigning.
Yikes...
What does this mean for the quality/standards of the parks? Still hoping they continue to bring the SF parks' quality to a higher standard, closer to Cedar Point. I'm happy to pay more for a better day at the park.
I doubt it means the much, because only the Virgin Galactic guy has theme park experience. Not sure what he's doing with Galactic, because I thought they were out of money and Branson was done with it.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Still trying to figure out where Ben Baldonza fits/past tense of fit into Six Flags. Is he still there? What does/did he do during his time there?
Oh yeah... I guess I should have known that. Then again, I care about Spirit's management team about as much as they care about their employees.
I'm naive about these things, but it's perplexing to me that boards are generally made up of people who have zero experience in the field the company operates in. Wouldn't you want a team of experts in the entertainment or leisure industry who might have some clue about the challenges that your unique business faces? I don't understand what insight a former Unilever exec provides other than money = good.
(OK, I looked up their current board and several members have experience in the casino or fast food space but still...)
It's important to consider that board members are not operators. They're not deep into the specifics. Sometimes an executive chair has that operational experience, which makes a lot of sense. I think anything that's remotely hospitality adjacent is probably a good fit in this case, if only because they understand the capital intensive nature of that kind of business, and that service is provided by people, so you need those.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Directors are expected to focus on long-term strategy, risk management, and ensuring the company's C-Team is executing effectively. The skills required for this are often more important than industry-specific knowledge. I think they also provide a healthy dose of skepticism to counteract executives who don't know anything other than their own business.
I suppose the required level of industry experience is directly proportional with the level of micromanagement they plan to be doing.
Boards of public companies typically aren't set up well to micromanage. They typically meet only once a quarter. Majority of members typically have day jobs somewhere else. Pre-Covid, they often met remotely. Post, its even more common. Good boards have a variety of different backgrounds. Some is industry specific. Other is general industry. Finance/capital markets. Legal/regulatory. Everyone with the same backgrounds often leads to group think.
Another year passed over. Drats.
"You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world...but it requires people to make the dreams a reality." -Walt Disney
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