Midway Attractions
LEGOLAND Parks
Resort Theme Parks
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Scott O’Neil has more than 25 years of experience in leading and managing global sports and entertainment brands. With a reputation for innovation, an eye for strategic and global brand development and partnerships, and a passion for culture and talent development, O’Neil has stewarded some of the sports and entertainment industry’s most renowned and iconic brands and properties, including the NBA’s New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers; the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, the NHL’s New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils; and the internationally ranked sports and entertainment arenas, Madison Square Garden and Prudential Center.
His mission to build innovative, inspiring, diverse, socially impactful and high performing businesses and brands earned the organizations under O’Neil’s management acclaim in innovation and culture. He recently published a life leadership book entitled, ‘Be Where Your Feet Are’ published St. Martins Press.
O’Neil earned his bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Villanova University, and his master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He has been married for 26 years to wife Lisa, with whom he has three daughters.
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Alistair was appointed Chief Financial Officer in November 2020, including responsibility for Merlin Group IT and Procurement, having been Acting CFO since July 2020.
Alistair joined Merlin in 2008 and has held various senior finance roles, including Head of Corporate Finance, Group Investor Relations Director, Senior Finance Director – Capital Projects and most recently, Deputy CFO.
Prior to Merlin, Alistair worked for Deloitte in Audit & Assurance.
Matt was appointed Chief Corporate Officer in August 2020. Leading the Group’s governance, compliance and legal matters, he is also responsible for Corporate Affairs, HR, Property and Health and Safety on the Executive Committee. Matt was previously Merlin’s Group General Counsel and Company Secretary.
Matt has held a number of Executive Committee roles within publicly listed companies including General Counsel and Company Secretary at DS Smith PLC, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary of VT Group plc and Group General Counsel of RMC Group plc. He began his career at law firm Linklaters.
Fiona Eastwood is Chief Operating Officer of Merlin’s Midway attractions encompassing the existing Midway estate, new openings and franchise operations, and Merlin's Resort Theme Parks, both across the UK including Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and Warwick Castle; as well as in Europe, including Gardaland in Italy and Heide Park in Germany.
Fiona was previously Managing Director, Midway Attractions a role to which Fiona was appointed in 2019, following a period as Managing Director, Resort Theme Parks. In 2015, Fiona joined Merlin as Global Marketing Director, Midway Attractions, responsible for driving all aspects of brand strategy and marketing across a global portfolio of Midway brands.
Fiona joined from BBC Worldwide, where she was responsible for strategic planning, brand management, market research, ancillary revenues and branded partnerships across Nordics, CEMA, Asia and Latin America. Previously, she held roles as Managing Director, Consumer Products and Commercial Director for one of the BBC’s biggest international brands, Doctor Who.
John heads up LEGOLAND Resorts Group and is responsible for all new and existing LEGOLAND Resorts globally, supporting Merlin’s dynamic growth plans.
He was previously Merlin’s Chief New Openings Officer responsible for all new attraction openings including six new LEGOLAND Resorts and the integration of acquisitions.
John started his career at the LEGO Group following a business degree, and subsequently took on the challenge to expand the LEGOLAND franchise outside of its homeland in Denmark. Having first worked on projects in the UK (LEGOLAND Windsor opened in 1996) he project managed the first US LEGOLAND Park, based in California; before moving into general park management first in Germany and then back in California.
John joined Merlin’s senior management team as part of the acquisition of LEGOLAND Parks in 2005, and as Managing Director LEGOLAND Parks oversaw both the continued development of the Group's existing LEGOLAND Parks into successful short break resorts for families with young children; and the identification and planning for new LEGOLAND parks around the world, including the opening of LEGOLAND resorts in Florida and Malaysia.
Paul Moreton has over thirty years of experience in the attractions and TV industry, ranging from strategic through to commercial and creative positions. Having started his career selling balloons at Alton Towers in 1991, Paul went on to head up Marketing for Madame Tussauds and The London Eye before taking an opportunity at UKTV where he was responsible for the creation of three successful new TV channels.
Paul re-joined Merlin Entertainments in 2012 in the position of Group Creative Director. Paul has been the driving force behind the development of many iconic Merlin attractions, including the global rollout of Madame Tussauds, leading the launch of the New York location.
As Group Creative Director, Paul’s role encompassed the whole Merlin business – all sites and all brands; and he and his team in Merlin Magic Making have been at the heart of Merlin’s development and growth strategy. Paul is actively involved in improving diversity and inclusion within Merlin and in his role as a Board member of the London Youth Games.
Spencer Holt is Merlin’s first Chief Experience & People Officer (CXPO) and started in August 2023. Through this newly created role, Holt is responsible for both the employee journey of Merlin’s 30,000-strong workforce, alongside the guest experience delivered to over 50 million visitors who visit Merlin’s attractions across the globe each year.
An award-winning educator, speaker, podcast host and executive coach, Holt has over 20 years of experience working in global businesses across the pharmaceutical, finance, franchising, and sales industries. After spending 18 years at AstraZeneca leading people and culture for its 70k employees across 62 countries, in roles across Enterprise People Development, Global Academies, and Commercial Innovation, Holt co-founded and was the Chief Learning Officer at the Global Leader Group, a business and people consultancy group focused on helping organisations achieve excellence.
Holt has a Ph.D. in Leadership Development from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and hosts the leadership and professional growth podcast series, ‘Small Things Make A Big Difference’.
Justin was appointed Chief Strategy Officer in 2018 after three years as Managing Director, Resort Theme Parks. Justin initially joined Merlin in 2011 as Marketing Director within Resort Theme Parks.
With over 25 years’ experience across a range of international organisations, Justin brings a robust approach to strategy development, business execution and the understanding and delivery of consumer needs. As Chief Strategy Officer, he is focused on 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.
With a career spanning GlaxoSmithKline, Kellogg’s and AstraZeneca, Justin has held a number of senior roles leading the development and growth of a range of brands in the UK and on a global basis.