Richard Zimmerman

Former President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation

Search every verified Richard Zimmerman interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Richard Zimmerman, President and CEO of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, acknowledged that the company’s 2025 performance fell short of expectations, citing softer-than-expected demand in September that offset attendance growth in the third quarter. He stated that the company is evaluating opportunities to monetize non-core assets to accelerate deleveraging and that it expects to reduce leverage to below four times by the end of 2026. Zimmerman also noted that a significant restructuring completed in the second quarter flattened leadership layers and is expected to permanently reduce full-time labor costs by more than $20 million annually. Zimmerman announced he will step down as president and CEO by the end of 2025, remaining in the role until a successor is appointed. He discussed ongoing constructive engagement with a group led by Jana Partners that includes Travis Kelce, describing the interest as “enormous” and stating the company intends to work closely with Kelce’s team to optimize the opportunity. Zimmerman emphasized that the combined company is “stronger and more strategically positioned” than either legacy company and reiterated a target of reaching 58 million in attendance and $3.8 billion in revenue by 2028, with a goal of $1.5 billion in adjusted EBITDA and a 40% margin.