PepsiCo executive Michael Spanos has been appointed as president and CEO of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, replacing Jim Reid-Anderson in both roles with effect from 18 November 2019.

The 55-year-old has been serving as CEO of PepsiCo, Asia, Middle East and North Africa – a sector with US$6bn (€5.42bn, £4.68bn) in revenue, spanning 43 countries, with 20,000 direct and 115,000 indirect employees, and contributing US$1.2bn (€1.08bn, £940m) in operating profit.

Under Spanos' leadership, the company set a new strategic direction that accelerated top line and operating profit growth over multiple years, starting first in the Greater China region, and then across the entire portfolio of territories.

"Mike is a proven value creator and results-oriented leader, with a strong track record in operationally intensive businesses, both in North America and internationally," said Jon Luther, Six Flags independent lead director. "His strong strategic ability, marketplace intuition and people leadership skills make him ideal to lead Six Flags."

Spanos joins the Six Flags board immediately, but will not succeed Reid-Anderson as chair, as Richard Roedel, who has been on the board since December 2010, is to step up as non-executive chair.

Reid-Anderson commented: "As a major investor in Six Flags, I have the utmost confidence in Mike's ability to further supercharge our growth initiatives, continue to drive innovation, and deliver significant short, medium and long-term value for our stakeholders."

Spanos has spent more than 25 years with PepsiCo, seven of them working internationally, before which he served in the US Marine Corps. He has a Masters degree in Organisational Behaviour from the University of Pennsylvania.

"Jim has built an amazing legacy, and I look forward to the next horizon of growth," said Spanos. "It's a privilege to be able to lead such a superb organisation."

Six Flags showed growth in attendances and revenues in its latest financial figures, which were for the first nine months of 2019. Some 26.7m people visited its parks during this period, almost a million more than in the same period in 2018, while revenue was US$1.2bn (€1.08bn, £940m) ‒ up 3 per cent. Adjusted EBITDA was US$455m (€410m, £354m) for the nine-month period.

Already the largest operator of waterparks in North America, Six Flags plans to open a succession of theme parks in China and Saudi Arabia over the next few years.