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Efteling releases CEO Bart de Boer to begin a
consolidation strategy after a major expansion plan
The Supervisory Board of Efteling theme park in the Netherlands announced, a few days ago, that, by mutual agreement, it was going to release its CEO Bart de Boer after six years of successful collaboration.
Appointed to this position in 2008 in place of Ronald van der Zijl who retired, Bart de Boer actually led an ambitious development plan that has strengthened Efteling's position as one of the most prominent theme parks of Europe. During his assignment, the company invested €220 million euros (approx $288 million) and since 2009 has exceeded 4 million visitors annually to reach a record attendance of 4.2 million admissions last year during the 60th anniversary celebrations.
A dueling wooden roller coaster built by Great Coaster International (Joris en de Draak, 2010, €13 million), an open-air theater featuring a medieval show (Raveleijn, 2011, €30 million), Europe's largest water fountain show designed by WET (Aquanura, 2012, €17 million) and a new tale in the Sprookjesbos (The Emperor's New Clothes, 2012, €1.6 million) are among the main additions launched this period, not to mention the opening, in 2009, of the holiday resort Bosrijk for an investment of €52 million
It is also during the period during which Bart de Boer was CEO that Efteling expanded its universe inspired by fairy tales outside of the theme park's borders with the development of animated television series, musicals and other media productions. Finally, Efteling also went from a seasonal opening to an annual opening in 2010, becoming Europe's second all-year open theme park with Disneyland Paris.
After this period of strong expansion and growth, the emphasis in the years to come will be on the consolidation and strengthening of the internal organisation. "Efteling believes that this new phase demands another kind of leadership to solidly guide the growth of the past years and to use all the possibilities that have been created at Efteling optimally," explains Koen Sanders, Director of Communications and Public Relations at Efteling.
Bart de Boer will leave office on September 1, 2013. In the meantime, the supervisory board has appointed one of its members, Henk Kivits (also CEO of Stage Entertainment), an advisory mission to define the future composition of the Board and the role of the next CEO.
"I had the opportunity to lead a wonderful organization that has become an important player in the international scene of theme parks in recent years," said Bart de Boer. "Efteling offers guests something really special. To make this experience possible, we have invested heavily in the quality of the park and we have evolved strongly on all fronts. Efteling is well prepared for the challenges of the future, this is the right time for the park to redefine a vision and a different leadership structure for the forthcoming period. I look with great pride and pleasure what has been accomplished here."
Efteling now aims to surpass the milestone of 5 million visitors by 2020, "We expect to welcome more foreign visitors – mainly from Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom – to support the growth of attendance. We will also try to keep our place as the third theme park destination in Europe in the future," added Koen Sanders.
Bart de Boer is also the current Chair of the European Advisory Board of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA). According to Koen Sanders, he will retain that role after leaving Efteling.
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