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Why the CEO of SeaWorld, parent of Tampa's Busch Gardens, stepped down

 
Orcas during January a show at the Shamu Up Close attraction at Sea World in Orlando. [Orlando Sentinel]
Orcas during January a show at the Shamu Up Close attraction at Sea World in Orlando. [Orlando Sentinel]
Published Dec. 12, 2014

Was it declining theme park attendance? Weaker profits and a plunging stock price? The nagging impact from the animal rights Blackfish film against keeping killer whales in captivity? Perhaps the long delay by Tampa's Busch Gardens to get this year's big new attraction — the Falcon's Fury ride — up and running?

Whatever the combo of ills, it was enough Thursday for SeaWorld Entertainment, the parent of the SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and some lesser theme parks, to unseat CEO Jim Atchison, name an interim chief and announce a companywide overhaul that will include layoffs.

That overhaul will affect SeaWorld's entire 11-park enterprise, including Busch Gardens. The company said the effort, which calls for $50 million in savings in 2015, will "centralize some operations, reduce duplication of functions and increase efficiencies, and accelerate execution."

Job cuts will come, though SeaWorld has yet to specify which positions will be lost.

"In order to achieve the goals of our business realignment, we regret that some positions will necessarily be eliminated. However, our cost savings effort is part of a broader program to position us for long term growth," Atchison said.

It all sounds traumatic. But SeaWorld is in need of triage and a shake-up may ultimately benefit a theme park company that's seen little upside this year. The company's shares, which traded this year as high as $35 in March, plummeted on a single day in August from $28 to $18. Since then, the stock has only stumbled lower, closing Thursday at $16.09.

Also aggravating SeaWorld's situation is the especially potent competition this year from its Orlando competitors. Universal Orlando's wildly successful Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened an expansion. Disney parks have answered by leveraging its popular Frozen and Star Wars franchises.

Effective Jan. 15, SeaWorld chairman David F. D'Alessandro will succeed Atchison and serve as interim CEO until the board selects a replacement. Atchison will not be ousted but instead becomes vice chairman of the board and consultant. He will receive a $2.4 million payout, plus $440,000 annually for three years for consulting, according to a regulatory filing.

Atchison, who received a marketing degree from the University of South Florida, goes back decades with the theme parks. In 1998, at age 32, he was named vice president of finance and planning at Busch Gardens. In 2002, the Busch Gardens executive was promoted to vice president of marketing for SeaWorld Adventure Parks in Orlando. In 2009, he was named CEO of the theme park business following its $2.3 billion sale by longtime owner Anheuser Busch to Blackstone Group, a New York private equity firm.

SeaWorld Entertainment went public in 2013, though Blackstone remains an investor.

A SeaWorld spokesman who talked to the Orlando Sentinel would not say whether Atchison's decision was voluntary. In the end, it may not matter. But the search for a new CEO means finding someone with proven turnaround skills and a thick skin to counter the growing backlash from the Blackfish film against using killer whales or orcas as captive entertainment.

As part of Thursday's announcement, SeaWorld said it has added two new directors to its board. Ellen Tauscher is a "strategic adviser" at a major law firm, a former member of Congress and a past undersecretary at the U.S. State Department. And William Gray served as co-CEO of Ogilvy North America, part of the giant Ogilvy & Mather advertising, public relations and marketing firm.

Neither may know an orca from an orchid. But their gravitas and skills lie elsewhere: where SeaWorld most needs help shaping public opinion recently turned sour over a theme park business built on captive animal shows.

Contact Robert Trigaux at rtrigaux@tampabay.com. Follow @venturetampabay