Six Flags named Mark Pauls chief operating officer, with the appointment taking effect July 15, 2026.
Pauls succeeds Tim Fisher, who will remain with the company as a special advisor through Dec. 15. Fisher's transition period gives the regional amusement-resort operator several months of overlap after the leadership change.
Pauls most recently served as senior vice president of operations at Herschend Family Entertainment. His resume also includes Palace Entertainment, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, and Busch Gardens leadership roles.
Mark Pauls Joins Six Flags Operations Team
At Herschend, Pauls worked on operations, engineering and maintenance, workforce management, and entertainment events across regional parks. He also helped integrate Palace Entertainment after Herschend acquired the company in December 2025.
At Palace Entertainment, Pauls oversaw the company's nationwide operations portfolio. Earlier, he held senior operations roles at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, including a president role responsible for park operations, about 4 million annual guests, and roughly 6,000 employees.
His Busch Gardens background includes operations leadership in Tampa and Williamsburg, two parks with heavy seasonal entertainment, animal care, coaster, dining, and event calendars.
Six Flags Leadership Transition
Six Flags President and CEO John Reilly framed the hire around reliability, service, park quality, and operating performance. The appointment comes as Six Flags continues integrating the legacy Cedar Fair and Six Flags businesses after the 2024 merger.
Six Flags describes itself as North America's largest regional amusement-resort operator, with 21 amusement parks, 14 water parks, and nine resort properties across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company also manages an amusement park in Saudi Arabia.
Sources: Six Flags announcement via Business Wire and Six Flags investor site.
Image credit: Six Flags Entertainment Corporation.