James Reid-Anderson (born 12 April 1959) is a British businessman who was formerly the president,
chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...
. Before working for Six Flags, Anderson was previously a healthcare adviser to both Apollo and the managing board of Siemens AG. Under Reid-Anderson, Dade Behring was acquired by Siemens.
He succeeded interim CEO Al Weber Jr. in August 2010, who led the corporate restructuring of the company following its
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
and the ousting of former executives Mark Shapiro and Daniel Snyder. He held the position until February 2016, before his former position was reinstated in 2017 following the sudden departure of his successor, John Duffey.
Anderson is responsible for having led Six Flags Theme Parks through an eight-fold increase in market value over a five-year period. Under his first period of leadership, the company set a new strategic direction, achieved all-time high guest and employee satisfaction ratings and significant operational improvements, and drove a ten times return on investment for shareholders.
During his second tenure as Chairman, President, and CEO, Six Flags re-acquired many of its former properties that had been sold off to other companies, including
Six Flags Darien Lake
Six Flags Darien Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and resort located in Corfu, New York, off of Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Rochester. Six Flags Darien Lake features a theme park, water park, campground and lodging. It i ...
,
Frontier City
Frontier City is a western-themed amusement park in Oklahoma City. It is owned by EPR and operated by Six Flags. The park originally opened in 1958. Frontier City is the third-oldest Six Flags park behind Six Flags New England and Six Flags Grea ...
, and
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor SplashTown
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown is a water park located north of Houston in Spring, Texas, United States.Baghdad in 1959 but left to Beirut soon after due to the
14 July Revolution
The 14 July Revolution, also known as the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état, took place on 14 July 1958 in Iraq, and resulted in the overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq that had been established by Faisal I of Iraq, King Faisal I in 1921 under the ...
. He grew up in Lebanon, Guyana, and later London, where he was educated at
Salesian College
A Salesian school is an educational institution run by the Roman Catholic Salesian Congregation of Saint John Bosco (or Don Bosco), and one that uses his methods. Salesian schools are dedicated to young people in an educational and formative envir ...
, Battersea. He obtained an Honors Degree in Commerce from the University of Birmingham in England and is a Fellow of the UK
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (ACCA). It has 240,952 members and 541,930 future members worldwid ...
. He is married with four children.
Career
Early career
His early career involved stints at
Mobil
Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999.
...
Grand Met
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...
/
Diageo
Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...
,
PepsiCo
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...
In 1996, Reid-Anderson joined Dade Behring Holdings Inc., a company which manufactured testing equipment and supplies for the medical diagnostics industry, as executive vice-president and chief financial officer (CFO) and later became chief administrative officer and CFO in September 1997. In April 1999, he was promoted to the role of president and chief operating officer and then CEO in September 2000. He was elected as the chairman of the board in October 2002.
In 2005, Reid-Anderson was a finalist in the ''Smart Business Chicago'' Entrepreneur of the Year awards and was later named in the British ''Sunday Times'' as the 22nd most influential Briton in the US
In 2007, Dade Behring was acquired by the German conglomerate Siemens AG. In November 2007, Reid-Anderson became the CEO of
Siemens Healthcare
Siemens Healthineers AG (formerly Siemens Healthcare, Siemens Medical Solutions, Siemens Medical Systems) is a German medical device company. It is the parent company for several medical technology companies and is headquartered in Erlangen, Germ ...
Diagnostics and in May 2008, became a member of Siemens AG's managing board and CEO of Siemens Healthcare Sector. In 2009 he became a director of Stericycle Inc, an Illinois-based waste management company.
Six Flags
On 12 August 2010, Jim Reid-Anderson was named chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...
. The success of Dade Behring led investors to appoint him to this role, and their belief in him was rewarded as the company saw six record years in a row from a financial, guest and employee satisfaction perspective.
Reid-Anderson was succeeded by John M. Duffey as chairman, president, and CEO in 2016, but moved into the role of executive chairman on 19 February 2016, allowing others in the organisation to move up into senior roles. He continued to have a role in key strategic matters at the company, including governance, M&A, and international and organizational development.
On 18 July 2017, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation announced that its board of directors had appointed Jim Reid-Anderson, who had been serving as executive chairman of the company since February 2016, to re-assume his position as the company's chairman, president and CEO, effective immediately. Reid-Anderson succeeded John M. Duffey, who had suddenly resigned from the company for unknown personal reasons. Reid-Anderson had formerly served as chairman, president and CEO of Six Flags from August 2010 through February 2016.
On 24 October 2019, Six Flags announced that on 18 November 2019, Reid-Anderson would resign and be replaced with Michael Spanos, a Chief Executive Officer of a division of
PepsiCo
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...