Anna Danau

Short biography

Anna is the Director of Strategic Engagement for International Ride Training, providing training, consulting, and auditing for ride operations safety. IRT services include operations training, auditing, interactive safety education and coaching, leadership development, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) development, and general ride safety consulting to over 75 theme parks, water parks, family entertainment centers, and attractions worldwide. Anna also holds the position of Managing Director of Hospitality Intelligence LLC, a safety, operations, staffing, logistics, and guest service consultancy company. She has been living in Vietnam for the past nine years, operating attractions, delivering training, and supporting international companies doing business in attractions & entertainment in Vietnam. Anna has worked with partners across Asia-Pacific to boost safety standards, hire strategically and successfully, improve training methods, and execute world-class operations. Projects in Vietnam include ICE! at Saigon Centre, ICE! at AEON Mall Tan Phu, Sanrio Hello Kitty Ice Town, Just Kidding Family Entertainment Center (includes outdoor rides, indoor playground, a restaurant, events, and group classes), The Family Fun Fair @ SC VivoCity Shopping Mall (includes outdoor rides, games, and F&B), ONCE Nighttime Spectacular at VinWonders Phu Quoc, Sun World’s An Thoi Signature Show, among others.    Prior to her career in Attractions, Anna carries eight years of global affairs & international business experience across a variety of entities, including the U.S. Department of State and the intelligence community. Missions of previous employers span across international government development, diplomacy, intelligence, and security & defense. She served as the Japan Strategy Manager for Northrop Grumman's Global Business Development Organization and as a Consultant/Global Context Analyst to other international offices. In these roles, she provided market, customer, and competitive intelligence analysis to support business development efforts. Moreover, Anna trained the new international offices on the application of cultural awareness, historical context, and current global environmental issues to strategy design. She now applies her intelligence and international business background to the international attractions industry. Anna is certified in Levels I & II SCIP (Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professional) certifications and a graduate of the Thunderbird Global Business Executive Program. She holds a bachelor's degree in International Affairs/Sociocultural Anthropology from George Washington University and a master's degree in Foreign Service/Security Studies from Georgetown University. She is the current Chair of the IAAPA Education Subcommittee and serves on the IAAPA Asia Pacific Advisory Board.