Ben Thompson (Panelist)

Ben Thompson has spent the last 25 years in marketing, strategy and business development roles in major global organisations. A graduate of the accelerated management training program at Mars Incorporated, Ben spent 11 years at the company including the last 3 years as Director of Category Leadership for the UK market.

In 2011 Ben moved to the Walt Disney company where in 5 years he rose to become Marketing Director for EMEA in what today is Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, leading the region’s retail strategy on Star Wars VII, Marvel, Frozen, and several Pixar titles. In 2015 Ben moved to Merlin Entertainments as Global Marketing Director, New Openings where he had responsibility for the launches of 4 LEGOLAND® parks and 40 Midway (indoor) attractions.

Ben joined Storyland Studios as Chief Strategy Officer and Head of International in August 2020. In this role Ben leads Storyland Studios’ Strategic Development business, heading up the strategy practice, and managing the relationships with international IP partners, operators, and real estate developers. Ben is a regular speaker at industry events and advisor to developers across the world with a particular focus on New Arabia, the fast-growing markets of KSA, UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.