Leadership Team

Meet the Leadership Team

• Marc Swanson, Chief Executive Officer

  Marc Swanson is a nearly 20 year veteran of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, where he serves as Chief Executive Officer, a role he also held from September 2019 to November 2019.  He has also served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the Company starting in August 2017.  Prior to that Mr. Swanson served as Chief Accounting Officer since 2012, as interim Chief Financial Officer from June 2015 until September 2015 and as interim Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer from August 1, 2017 until his permanent appointment later that same month.

  Previously, he was Vice President, Performance Management and Corporate Controller of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment from 2011 to 2012, the Corporate Controller of Busch Entertainment Corporation from 2008 to 2011 and the Vice President of Finance of Sesame Place from 2004 to 2008. Mr. Swanson is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Orlando Science Center.

  Mr. Swanson holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Purdue University and a master’s degree in business administration from DePaul University, and is a CPA.

• Tony Taylor, Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel

  G. Anthony (Tony) Taylor has been the Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since 2010 and has led the Governmental Affairs team since 2017. In addition, from 2013 until 2015, Mr. Taylor led the Company’s Corporate Affairs group, which included Industry & Governmental Affairs, Corporate Communications, Community Affairs and Corporate Social Responsibility. From 2012-2015 Mr. Taylor led the Company’s Governmental Affairs team, and from 2010-2016 Mr. Taylor led the Company’s Risk Management group.
  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Taylor held the position of Associate General Counsel of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. from 2000 to 2010. Prior to that, Mr. Taylor was a Principal at Blumenfeld Kaplan in St. Louis from 1993 to 2000.

  He holds Bachelors’ degrees in political science and speech communication from the University of Missouri and a juris doctor degree from Washington University.

• Dr. Christopher Dold, Chief Zoological Officer

  Dr. Christopher (Chris) Dold has served as the Chief Zoological Officer of the Company since April 2016. In his role, Chris leads the Company’s team of zoological professionals and oversees all animal programs, rescue and rehabilitation, science, conservation and education. Prior to that, Dr. Dold served as Vice President, Veterinary Services from 2008 until April 2016 and Senior Veterinarian at SeaWorld Orlando from 2005 to 2008.

  Prior to joining the Company, Dr. Dold was a National Academies- National Research Council Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow with the US Navy Marine Mammal Program, and completed a University of California-Davis Internship in Marine Mammal Medicine and Pathology at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California.

  Dr. Dold is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine, European Association for Aquatic Mammals, and the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. Dr. Dold received a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

• Christopher (Chris) Finazzo, Chief Commercial Officer

  Prior to becoming the Company’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Finazzo served as a consultant to the Company from August 2021 through December 31, 2021. Prior to that, he served in various roles at Burger King Corporation (“BKC”), including President of BKC, Americas from December 2017 to July 2021,Head of Marketing, North America from January 2017 until December 2017 and Head of Development from January 2016 until January 2017. Since joining BKC in 2014, Mr. Finazzo also held various roles in marketing and development. Prior to joining BKC in 2014, Mr. Finazzo was on the strategy team at Macy’s. Mr.Finazzo served as a director of Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. from February 2020 through July 2021. Mr. Finazzo also served as director of Burger King Foundation Inc. from 2018 to July 2021. Mr. Finazzo holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Connecticut.

• James (Jim) Hughes, Chief Human Resources Officer

  James (Jim) Hughes has served as Chief Human Resources Officer of the Company since August 2022. Previously, Mr. Hughes served as Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer for Red Lobster Seafood Company (“Red Lobster”) since 2021. Prior to that, he served in various HR roles of increasing responsibility at Red Lobster and when Red Lobster was part of Darden restaurants from 2011 to 2021. Prior to his time with Darden and Red Lobster, Mr. Hughes progressed through various HR roles with PepsiCo from 1996 to 2011. Prior to his time with Pepsi, Mr. Hughes began his career in HR with General Electric as a member of their HR Leadership Program in 1995. Mr. Hughes holds a master’s degree in Industrial Relations and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, both from West Virginia University.
• James (Jim) Forrester, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

  James ("Jim") W. Forrester, Jr., has served as the Interim Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since January 2023. Prior to that, he served as the Company’s Vice President, Finance for SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Orlando and Discovery Cove from February 2019 to January 2023. He served as Vice President of Operations, Finance, Human Resources and Revenue Management for ICON Orlando 360 from October 2017 to February 2019. Additionally, Mr. Forrester has more than two decades of theme park finance and operations experience including at the Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney World Resort, and Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, among others.
• Shekufeh Boyle, Chief Accounting Officer

  Shekufeh Shirazi Boyle was appointed Chief Accounting Officer of the Company in January 2023. Prior to that, she served as Corporate Controller & Vice President of Accounting of the Company since May 2022. Before that she served as the Company’s Corporate Controller from November 2021 to May 2022, the Company’s Director of Corporate and Technical Accounting from October 2019 to November 2021 and as a Corporate Accounting Manager of the Company from August 2014 to October 2019. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Boyle worked in public accounting at McDirmit Davis & Co LLC from 2007 to 2014, where she most recently served as an Audit Manager. Ms. Boyle is a Certified Public Accountant with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting degree from University of Central Florida, and a Master of Accounting and Financial Management degree from DeVry University Keller Graduate School of Management.