IAAPA Leadership Summit 2020

Gretchen Baker
Managing Director, Museum Experiences, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

Gretchen Baker is Managing Director of Museum Experience at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is under construction in L.A.’s Exposition Park. In her role, she is responsible for exhibition development, in-gallery digital, and visitor experience. Prior to joining the Lucas Museum in July 2019, Baker was the Vice President of Exhibitions at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County where she and her team mounted a live tattoo parlor in the museum and brought a new family of mammoths to La Brea Tar Pits. She began her career deep in the collections at Chicago’s Field Museum and conducting botanical research in the Amazon.  

Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Sales, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products

As Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and Sales for Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Jill and her team are responsible for marketing and selling Disney destinations, products, experiences, and signature vacations around the world.

Leslie Mark Kendall
Chief Historian, Petersen Automotive Museum

The only first grader to know what a Bugatti was, Leslie Kendall has had an unquenchable interest in automobiles and automotive history since early childhood.  After earning an MBA from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo in 1985, he entered mortgage banking only to leave the lending profession after seven years to volunteer full-time at the San Diego Automotive Museum where he was hired to be the curator after just eight months.  He was invited to join the team responsible for creating the Petersen Automotive Museum in April 1993 and in October 1995 was named curator, ultimately creating from scratch more than 100 special exhibits relating to automotive history, industry and artistry. 

John Lindsay
Program Director, nFusion

John Lindsay is a development and project management executive, with decades of international experience. Mr. Lindsay’s career includes roles in four Disney Theme Parks, three World Expos, and with multiple Hollywood studios. His unique experience blends roots in entertainment production with negotiations and management of design and development for the delivery of projects with creative content and iconic brands. 

Principal, Technifex

Monty Lunde is Co-Founder and President/CEO of Technifex, an entertainment company formed in 1984 specializing in the design, engineering, and production of unique state-of-the-art attractions, iconic features, exhibits, and special effects.  Monty is involved with many of the corporate aspects of the company, as well as the conceptual development of special effects and show systems for theme parks, casinos, trade shows, experiential environments, and government training systems.  Monty is also a named inventor of several patented technologies.

Vice President, Business Development, Edwards Technologies Inc.

For the past 35 years Roberta has worked or consulted for many global brands including Cirque Du Soleil, Coca-Cola, Dick Clark Productions, Paramount Studios, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios. She is currently Senior VP of Business Development for Edwards Technologies, Inc (ETI). Roberta Perry and Brian Edwards founded ETI thirty-five years ago.

Anne F. Rashford
Director, Featured Experiences and Business Development, Museum of Science and Industry

Anne F. Rashford is Director, Special Exhibitions and Business Partnerships at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (MSI)—one of the largest science centers in the world.

Senior Vice President, Global Themed Entertainment, Warner Bros.

Peter van Roden is an Emmy-award winning media executive with over twenty years of experience in production, marketing and management.

Cliff Warner
Chairman, MYCOTOO, Inc.

Cliff has been a leader in the themed entertainment industry for over 30+ years, leading teams of seasoned veterans.   He has garnered a reputation for being one of the top producers of award-winning experiences including Universal Studios’ Water World Stunt Show, FiestaAventura’s Templo Del Fuego and the THEA Award-winning Dreamworks Animation Zone at Motiongate.  

Jake Wood
Co-founder and CEO, Team Rubicon

Jake Wood is the cofounder and CEO of Team Rubicon, a nonprofit organization that recruits, trains and deploys military veterans to disaster zones around the world and within the United States. Since 2010, Team Rubicon has scaled to 100,000 volunteers and deployed teams to some of the worst catastrophes of the century.

Kris Theiler
Vice President, Disneyland Park

Kris Theiler is the vice president of Disneyland Park, where she is responsible for all aspects of the  operation. She has extensive experience in developing business strategies, leading complex implementation efforts and developing initiatives that creatively deliver exceptional guest experiences.

Kris began her career at Disneyland in 1995 as an industrial engineer in the finance division. Since then, she has been involved in many key projects including the opening of Disney California Adventure Park, the implementation of Disney FASTPASS Service, the Disneyland Resort 50th Anniversary Celebration, New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World Resort and the development of Shanghai Disneyland.

Most recently, Kris led the successful opening of the largest, most immersive land in the history of Disneyland Park — Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Chris Beatty
Park Creative Executive, Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Chris Beatty is the executive creative director for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at both Disneyland Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As the creative lead for the village area, known as Black Spire Outpost, he is in charge of the team developing the vision and implementation of one of the most complex projects Walt Disney Imagineering has ever undertaken. Through multiple shopping, dining and interactive experiences throughout the village area, Chris and team have created a place where guests can live their own Star Wars story like never before.

Dave Cobb
Principal, Creative Development, Thinkwell Group

Since starting at Thinkwell Group over 12 years ago, Dave Cobb, Principal of Creative Development, guides project development with a focus on story and guest experience. He is constantly looking for new ways to integrate technology, social interactivity, and theatricality to engage and excite an audience. 

Dave’s role as Thinkwell’s Parkwide Creative Director for Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi involved supervising the development of over twenty world-class attractions—from dark rides and media spectaculars to coasters and live shows—in six immersive lands inspired by Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbara, and DC Comics. His diverse client roster includes Warner Bros., Cirque du Soleil, Nickelodeon, NASCAR, Hershey’s, Six Flags, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, Paramount, the San Diego Zoo, and more.