Six Flags CEO Richard Zimmerman to step down
Richard Zimmerman, president and CEO of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, will step down as leader of the theme park company.
Six Flags announced the news on Aug. 6, 2025.
Zimmerman will remain the president and CEO of Six Flags as the company searches for his successor. The company expects to make this decision by the end of 2025. Zimmerman is also a member of the Six Flags Board of Directors, which he will continue to be.
Six Flags will seek internal and external candidates for Zimmerman’s succession as the new CEO.
Zimmerman was previously president and CEO of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company prior to that company’s merge with Six Flags in 2024. The combined company now shares a portfolio of 56 parks.
Zimmerman shared the following statement:
The company has significantly evolved since I first joined what was then Paramount Parks, Inc. in 1987, and it has been an honor to have led such talented teams through critical and transformative periods over the years — not only for our company, but for the entire amusement park industry.
Since completing the merger of legacy Cedar Fair and legacy Six Flags a little more than a year ago, we have made significant progress on our integration efforts and cost synergy goals.
That said, there remains an immense opportunity to further optimize the portfolio and unlock the full value of the company’s unique assets and intellectual property. We are reaching more guests than ever before and continuing to advance our strategic priorities, which I am confident will enable Six Flags to drive tremendous value creation over the long term.
Together we have built a global leader in family entertainment with a resilient business model and bright prospects, and I look forward to supporting the team to help ensure the company achieves its full potential.
The merged Six Flags / Cedar Fair corporation wasted no time in making big changes — announcing the permanent closure of its Washington, D.C., park (Six Flags America), removing park presidents from all of its properties, and destroying Kingda Ka, the world’s tallest roller coaster (without prior notice to fans) — all within the first year of the Six Flags / Cedar Fair merge.
The company also continued announcing and opening new attractions, capping off its first year as a merged corporation by debuting Siren’s Curse — a “tilt coaster” at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio — on June 28, 2025. The company has a robust slate of future attractions on the way for 2026 and beyond.
This is a developing story; Six Flags’ quarterly earnings call is Aug. 6 at 10 a.m. ET.
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