Investor Relations

Executive Biographies

Mark Shapiro

Mark Shapiro
Chief Executive Officer

Mark Shapiro is President and Chief Executive Officer of Six Flags, Inc., the world’s largest regional theme park company, a role he assumed in December 2005 and to which he brings extensive expertise in consumer entertainment, brand building, marketing and programming.

Shapiro has worked to refocus and re-energize the Six Flags brand — making it more family-friendly, while still maintaining its signature reputation for record-breaking thrill rides. The strategy is paying off. Six Flags has recorded all-time high guest satisfaction scores and broadened its product offerings through the introduction of rides and themed areas for younger children based on popular franchises like Thomas the Tank Engine and The Wiggles, considered the most popular children’s entertainers in the world. Inspired by the 25 million guests who visit Six Flags’ network of 20 parks, Shapiro developed a Corporate Alliance Division to attract premium consumer brands like Papa John’s, Nintendo, Mars Snackfood and Johnny Rockets. Such initiatives have resulted in a 20% increase in revenue per guest and Corporate Sponsorship and Licensing has more than tripled from $16 million to $59 million in just 3 years.

Shapiro has also spearheaded Six Flags’ foray into international development, recently announcing an historic agreement with Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holding, to develop the first exclusive Six Flags theme park outside of North America — Six Flags DUBAILAND®. Additionally, the company has entered into a partnership with Oryx Holdings to develop a Six Flags branded location in Qatar Entertainment City. These projects are the first of several Six Flags venues to be built across the Arab world.

The Six Flags entertainment portfolio continues to grow and diversify under Shapiro’s leadership. In 2007, the company acquired Dick Clark Productions, a leading independent producer of such perennial hits as the Golden Globe Awards, the American Music Awards, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the Academy of Country Music Awards and So You Think You Can Dance. Six Flags has management oversight of the company, exploring logical synergies within its stable of parks to create a fully integrated entertainment platform.

Shapiro is a partner with Tom Cruise in the actor’s production company and was an Executive Producer of United Artists’ 2008 film, “Valkyrie.”

Before joining Six Flags in 2005, Shapiro spent 12 years at ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, where he bore significant responsibility for many of the sports and entertainment properties that built the television network into one of the world’s strongest multi-media brands. During his tenure, he garnered 16 Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards.

Shapiro served as ESPN’s Executive Vice President, Programming and Production, a position he assumed in September 2002. In this role, Shapiro was responsible for the development, acquisition, and scheduling of all programming for ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Radio, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD, and oversaw all remote and studio production for ESPN’s domestic and international entities, including the company’s engineering and technical operations. His production responsibilities included ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN Radio, and ESPN International’s worldwide networks. In 2002, Shapiro initiated the company's expansion into original proprietary programming with the launch of ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE), which encompassed the X Games, ESPY Awards, Tele-pics, ESPN Outdoors, including BASS and the Great Outdoor Games. EOE also debuted the company's first dramatic series, Playmakers, which was awarded a 2003 American Film Institute Award for its contribution to America's cultural legacy.

Shapiro was coordinating producer of ESPN’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning SportsCentury: 50 Greatest Athletes series from January 1997 to December 1999.

Prior to ESPN, Shapiro worked in various positions for NBC Sports from 1989-92. He began as an intern for the network’s SportsWorld series (1989), before being promoted to production assistant for a variety of events and shows, including the NBA Finals, the Super Bowl, Wimbledon, NFL Live, and the Breeders’ Cup (1990-91). In 1991 and 1992 he worked on NBC’s coverage of Notre Dame football as an associate producer, a role he held for the network’s coverage of gymnastics during the 1992 Olympics from Barcelona.

Shapiro serves on the board of directors for the Tribune Company, Live Nation and Junior Achievement of New York City. He is also a member of the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board and the Abu Dhabi Investment House Advisory Board.

A Chicago native, Shapiro graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Jeff Speed
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Jeff Speed is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Six Flags. Speed has both a broadbased financial background and extensive experience in the theme park industry. Before joining Six Flags, Speed served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Euro Disney S.A.S., where he was a key contributor to the development of the company’s long-term growth strategy and oversaw its 1.7 billion euro legal and financial restructuring. During his tenure, Speed oversaw a reduction in debt of approximately 500 million euros and raised significant capital for liquidity and new attractions. Prior to Euro Disney, Speed served as Vice President, Corporate Finance and Assistant Treasurer for The Walt Disney Company, where he was responsible for worldwide capital markets activities, structured and project finance initiatives (including Euro Disney and Hong Kong Disneyland), syndication of revolving credit facilities, and Disney’s overall banking and rating agency relationships.

Mark Quenzel
Executive Vice President Park Strategy and Management

Mark Quenzel is Executive Vice President of Park Strategy and Management. In this role, Quenzel oversees all park operations, strategy, in-park revenue, ticket sales and safety for the 21 Six Flags parks. Quenzel joined Six Flags following 15 years with ESPN, where he served as Senior Vice President, Programming and Production. In that capacity, he ran four divisions: Owned Events, Outdoors, Remote Production and Remote Facilities, and supervised 375 full-time employees and over 4,000 seasonal providers. Quenzel was also part of the team that created the popular X Games franchise as well as the Great Outdoor Games, and during his tenure he oversaw a number of major sport properties and brands such as NASCAR, NHL, MLB and B.A.S.S.

Mike Antinoro
Executive Vice President Entertainment and Marketing

Mike Antinoro is Executive Vice President, Entertainment and Marketing and oversees all aspects of
Six Flags’ advertising, promotions, in-park licensing agreements, entertainment, marketing and communications. Antinoro formerly served as the Executive Producer of ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE), the core creative group that led the ESPN brand into non-traditional sports and entertainment programming. During his tenure at EOE, Antinoro created a number of successful original movies, a critically acclaimed dramatic series, talk, reality and game shows, documentaries and “The World Series of Poker” franchise. EOE won the prestigious Peabody Award in 2002, and was nominated for more than 20 Sports Emmys. Prior to his work at EOE, Antinoro served directly under Mark Shapiro as coordinating producer of ESPN’s landmark SportsCentury series.

Lou Koskovolis
Executive Vice President Corporate Alliances

Lou Koskovolis is Executive Vice President, Corporate Alliances. Under Koskovolis, the new Corporate Alliances group focuses on developing key national, regional and local sponsorships for all Six Flags parks and creates cross-promotional platforms which enable Six Flags partners to showcase their products and services while providing Six Flags with added exposure through partners’ advertising and marketing assets. Koskovolis joined Six Flags from his position as Executive Vice President of Multi-Media Sales for ESPN and ABC Sports in addition to serving in leadership roles in the company’s National Television Sales and Customer Marketing organizations.

Andrew Schleimer
Executive Vice President of Strategic Development & In-Park Services

Andrew Schleimer is Six Flags’ Executive Vice President of Strategic Development In-Park Services, a division that focuses on increasing company revenue and enhancing the park experience through agreements with branded food, beverage, equipment, service and retail partners. Schleimer has a background in investment banking with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, and joined Six Flags from UBS Investment Bank, where he served as Vice President in the bank’s Mergers and Acquisitions department. At UBS, Schleimer advised on over $150 billion of transactions in the media, entertainment, technology, telecom and consumer products sectors.