Themed Entertainment Association to hold its 10th TEA Summit and Thea Awards Gala April 4-6

The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), an international organization that represents the interests of more than 7,500 members working in the themed entertainment industry, will hold its 10th business summit and the annual Thea Awards Gala from 4th to 6th April in Disneyland Resort (Anaheim, United States).
During the first day will be organized the Master Class, a series of presentations exclusively reserved for executives of member companies. Priority will be given to discussion and exchange of best practices between professionals. Among the main speakers, the TEA will invite Cedar Fair Entertainment Group CEO Matt Ouimet to present a keynote on the topic of leadership as well as the former Imagineer Marty Sklar who will lead a discussion about hiring to assemble an innovations team for companies of all size.
Other topics addressed will be ‘New business hot spots’ (with a focus on Dubai, Moscow, China and Singapore), ‘Strategies: working with brands’ (a session moderated by Dave Cobb, Senior Creative Director of Thinkwell Group) and ‘Dealing with the press in the digital age’.
The second day will be open to a wider audience including students invited as part of the TEA NextGen program. The Thea Awards recipients will present case studies and share the insights and issues critical to the success of their projects. In the spotlight this year: Europa-Park Resort which was awarded with the prestigious Thea Classic Award and Frank Stanek (former executive of Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Creative) who will return to his career in a keynote.
Thereafter will follow the other speakers among which Chick Russel (Universal Creative) who will talk about TRANSFORMERS: The Ride – 3D, the Imagineers Joe Rohde and Kathy Mangum about Aulani and the three winning projects at Disney California Adventure (Cars Land, Radiator Springs Racers and Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge), the vice-president of Warner Bros. Sarah Roots and Thinkwell Group’s CCO Craig Hanna about Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making Of Harry Potter, Jean-Christophe Canizares (CEO of ECA2) about the Big-O show of the Yeosu Expo 2012 and Efteling’s CEO Bart de Boer about Aquanura.
The gala will be the opportunity for the 12 honorees to receive their awards in front of their peers. Unveiled in last November at the IAAPA Attractions Expo, the Thea Awards are considered the “Oscars” of the attractions industry, recognizing and celebrating excellence in the creation of compelling places and experiences for visitors. More than 500 people are expected to attend the evening in the Grand Ballroom of the Disneyland Hotel on the theme of ‘pure imagination’.
Sponsors of the event are AECOM, Christie Digital, Electrosonic, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Garner Holt Productions, Jack Rouse Associates, Color Reflections Las Vegas, Rethink Attractions, Sennheiser, Canyon Creative, Solomon’s Group, exp, Thorburn Associates, ECA2, Interesting Products.
For more information and ticket purchase, please visit TEA Summit 2013 website.
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