IAAPA Virtual Conference: The Americas

Mike is an innovative CEO with 30 years of experience developing new business models and turning them into successful businesses. He is a strong strategic thinker and team builder who enjoys turning problem companies into success stories and therefore has grown his business both organically and through acquisitions. Before taking on his role as CEO of General Vending and GameTime, Mike built several amusement and entertainment companies, then later sold them to move on to meet new challenges. His route operations firm, General Vending, has survived many economic challenges including 9/11 and has always come out on top. In 2010 he acquired GameWorks in both Miami and Tampa and re-branded it GameTime. The decision to venture into the world of FEC's has proven to be very successful over the years, so much that he then moved on to build four new centers in Fort Myers, Ocoee, Daytona, and Kissimmee and has two more projects currently underway in Clearwater, and Plantation, Florida. 

Mike’s major areas of discipline include business development, business evaluation, negotiation, operating procedures, and management. He oversees the day to day operations of all GameTime locations as well as several other entertainment and amusement companies throughout Florida.  

Luis Felipe Arteaga is a corporate project manager who works with Fantasilandia Group, helping the company to develop operational projects and policies that work in the different countries in which the company operates, with a special emphasis on standardization, embracing the different cultural realities. Felipe believes in the power of processes and procedures when they are conceived as instruments to help employees to do their jobs in a better way, giving them clear guidelines, tutorials and tools, and helping them to understand that what they do is an important contribution but it is also part of a much bigger machine. 

With a background in finance for more than 3 years at the fixed income desk of an international bank in charge of operational cash flow, the experience of working in a stressful environment has helped him to carry out complex projects. Felipe recently landed a concurrent card system migration in 100 FEC locations in 4 countries over a very tight schedule of just 6 months. Having fallen in love with the entertainment industry, he is currently working on various Happyland corporate projects and is a member of the IAAPA FEC Committee. 

Felipe is a certified bond market trader and holds a commerce degree in administration and economy from Andes University of Santiago Chile. 

Teresa, with more than 8 years of experience in security, is responsible for analyzing and implementing security controls in applications, infrastructure security, cloud security, access control, security architecture reviews and cyber risks, including the development of policies and procedures aligned with the best practices in the market, as well as employee compliance and awareness. 

Graduated from Computer Systems Engineering with a specialty in networks, since 2010, she has been passionate about Informatic Security, training and professionalizing herself in various topics such as Ethical Hacking, Forensic Expertise, Security Analyst, OWASP Application Security, among others.

Leslie has more than 30 years of experience leading teams to breakthrough results in areas of general management, new business initiatives, game-changing strategy, and marketing. He has held senior executive positions at The Walt Disney Company, PepsiCo, Hasbro, Laureate Education, USC and Mars and Co.  Leslie has built a career of stepping into new situations, quickly sizing up issues and opportunities, inventing new ways of doing things, and then executing on them.   As a result, he has launched numerous new ventures and built businesses, brought new products and services to market, and created/positioned brands in Fortune 100 companies; as well as worked with small companies and startups, in both for-profit and non-profit sectors.  As a senior executive with Disney, Leslie was hired at the inception of a new division where he was instrumental in creating a twenty-fold increase in revenues over a ten-year period, building retail revenue to more than $1 Billion per year. He has experience in consumer products and services, entertainment, and education. 

Half of Leslie’s career has been in Europe and Latin America. He is Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and proficient in French.  He is a graduate of the Wharton School and University of Pennsylvania.

Linda is involved in attractions from design and startup to maintenance and retrofits. With a career focus on safety and security, she is an instructor and Board member for AIMS International, chairs a task group in ASTM F24, a member of IAAPA Global Security Committee and is a certified Functional Safety Engineer & Cyber Security Specialist by TUV Rheinland.
 

He leads a global team of ride design, operations, and maintenance professionals that keep Disney on the leading edge of theme park safety and technology advancements. Greg recently served as the 2017 Chairman of IAAPA. He has been an active volunteer with IAAPA for more than 18 years, including serving on the Government Relations, New Technology Awards, Nominating, and Strategic Planning committees. He is also a member of the IAAPA Safety committee and served as its Chairman from 2002 to 2012. Greg has been a speaker on industry safety‐related topics at IAAPA events around the world. He also plays a key leadership role in the association’s efforts to develop and harmonize industry safety standards around the globe, facilitating safety standards meetings in more than 23 countries throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. He has also been the Chairman of the ASTM International – F24 Subcommittee on Standards Harmonization since 2008. 

Greg has contributed to numerous innovations and inventions that have advanced accessibility for persons with disabilities. Some of these include handheld captioning for the deaf and audio descriptions for the blind that for the first time provide captioning and audio descriptions on moving rides and attractions. In addition, he is a co‐inventor and patent holder for Disney’s FASTPASS®, eliminating long lines at Disney theme park rides and attractions. He holds over 75 U.S. and foreign patents.
 

Matt Heller founded Performance Optimist Consulting in 2011 with one simple goal: Help Leaders Lead. Matt now works with organizations large and small to help them improve leadership competencies, customer service, employee motivation and teamwork. As a speaker, workshop facilitator or coach, Matt has a developed a proven track record for being able to easily relate to those around him, giving them solid tools, they can use immediately. His engaging presentations not only captivate the learner’s attention, but also encourage them to get involved and participate. 

Before becoming a professional speaker, Matt Heller spent 25 years in the amusement/theme park industry.  Starting as a ride operator at Canobie Lake Park just out of high school, Matt has enjoyed a robust career around the attractions industry with leadership positions at Canobie, Knott’s Camp Snoopy, Valleyfair and Smiles Entertainment Center.  Pulling from his previous leadership experience, in 2003 Matt joined Universal Orlando Resort as the Senior Trainer of Leadership Development.  Matt has also served on the IAAPA Education Committee, and from 2009-2012 was the Chair of the IAAPA Human Resources Committee.

Shaun is Founder and President of Attractions Academy. providing global attractions virtual and onsite training, organizational development, service excellence, leadership and performance improvement and operations consultancy for the attractions industry. Shaun is co-author of an industry leadership book ‘Reasons 2 Reward’ and author of numerous attractions industry features as well as keynote at global attraction industry conferences. Shaun is currently Chair for the IAAPA Asia Pacific Education Sub Committee and member of the IAAPA Global Education Committee, IAAPA Asia Pacific Advisory Committee and IAAPA Global Human Resources Committee. He also served as past Chair of the IAAPA Global Human Resources Committee.

David McKillips was named Chief Executive Officer CEC Entertainment in January 2020. David McKillips spent 13 years with the Six Flags Entertainment Company, most recently as President of the International Development for Six Flags, responsible for the operational management of all properties outside the United States including existing Parks in Mexico, Canada and development projects in Asia and Six Flags Qiddiya in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  

Mr. McKillips had previously served as Senior Vice President, In-Park Service overseeing the Company’s Food & Beverage, Retail, Games and Procurement functions from January 2016 to January 2018.  In this position, McKillips led a team of more than 17,000 employees and grew the business $50M, launching several new F&B, retail and games initiatives and new concepts.   He also served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Alliances from September 2010 to January 2016. 

Prior to joining Six Flags, Mr. McKillips served as Vice President Advertising & Custom Publishing Sales for DC Comics, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment. He started his career with Busch Entertainment, serving roles within the operations, entertainment, group sales and promotions departments at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida and then at Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, as Manager of Promotions. Mr. McKillips holds a B.A. degree in Communications from the University of Georgia.

Named Business of the Year by the Manatee Chamber of Commerce and Associate Member of the Year by the Florida Attractions Association, NetWeave provides social media services for over 70 clients in attractions, hospitality, tourism, events, aviation, and a wide range of other from retail to government. 

Kevin has been a guest lecturer for the University of South Florida, New College, St. Leo University, and State College of Florida. He has presented workshops and seminars for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, the Florida Attractions Association, and the Florida Association of Museums. His eleven years in social media management and training give him a substantial foundation in relevant experience regarding the business uses of social media. 

Kevin received his degree in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton, served in the US Army, and worked for over 20 years in corporate training and communications before co-founding NetWeave in 2009.

Jim Pattison, Jr. has been with Ripley Entertainment Inc. since 1990.  He has held a variety of senior positions within the company, including Vice President New Business, Vice President Aquariums, and Executive Vice President Operations of Ripley attractions worldwide before he was named President in 2008.   He has a broad range of management experience in the amusement, attraction, aquarium, entertainment, and finance fields.

RIPLEY ENTERTAINMENT owns, operates, and franchises more than 100 family attractions in 10 countries around the world. This 101-year-old company entertains 15 million guests annually.

Paul has dedicated his entire professional career to tourism and hospitality. His career spans more than 45 years in Honolulu Hawaii, Singapore, and Hong Kong. He held senior management positions, specializing in sales and marketing with major hotel companies such as Westin and Shangri-La before serving as Executive Director, Sales, and Marketing for Ocean Park Hong Kong. During his 15-year tenure at Ocean Park between 2000 and 2015, annual attendance climbed steadily from 3 million to 7.6 million each year. Paul is a consistent contributor to IAAPA, on the board of directors, executive committees, IAAPA education programs, as a speaker on numerous tradeshows in the United States and Asia, and as a regular member of the IAAPA Institute for Attractions Managers faculty. In November 2015, Paul Pei was honored with the IAAPA "Meritorious Service Award" in recognition of his service to and for the association in advancing IAAPA's mission. 

In 2015, Paul moved to Seattle, Washington, and PARKAD LLC parameters with a focus on education. A prominent advocate of "talent development" throughout his career, he is eager to continue supporting the industry globally to help develop the managers and leaders of tomorrow, especially in sales and marketing.