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Matt Ouimet is executive chairman of
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included-w ...
, a publicly traded company that owns 12 amusement parks in the United States and Canada.


Early life

Born in 1958 in
Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the ...
and raised in Unadilla NY. His first job was working at a grave yard in Unadilla. He graduated from Unatego High School in 1976 and went off to earn a bachelor of science degree in accounting from
Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public research university with campuses in Binghamton, Vestal, and Johnson City, New York. It is one of the four university centers in the State ...
.


Career highlights

He started work in 1980 at Price Waterhouse and became a
certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...
. In 1989, he left for Disney. Ouimet spent 17 years with The Walt Disney Company, including stints at
Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney Parks, Experiences an ...
, Disney’s Wide World of Sports, and Vacation Club, president of
Disney Cruise Line Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited, through the first vessel, ''Disney Magic'' and is domiciled in London, England ...
and president of the
Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (Di ...
. Also at Disney Development Co., he served as chief financial officer. He was senior vice president of finance and business development for
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, t ...
until August 1998 when he was transferred to Disney Cruise Line as its senior operating officer. With the August 31, 1999 resignation of Arthur Rodney as cruise line president, Matt Ouimet was named as his replacement in July. In 2003, he was appointed president of
Disneyland Resort The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (Di ...
. There Ouimet prepared for its 50th-anniversary and managed its restoration. He was succeeded as president of the Disneyland Resort by Ed Grier in an announcement made July 25, 2006. After leaving The Walt Disney Company, Ouimet joined
Starwood Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. was one of the largest companies that owned, operated, franchised and managed hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties. It was acquired by Marriott International in 2016. ...
as president, Hotel Group in 2006. He oversaw global operations for more than 850 hotels in 95 countries. In September 2008, he was replaced by Matthew Avril and departed the company. Starwood Hotels names Avril head of hotel unit
, Associated Press, September 2, 2008
In December 2008, Ouimet became the president and chief operating officer of
Corinthian Colleges Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians ** Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating t ...
, Inc. He announced on October 11, 2010, that he would be leaving Corinthian for personal reasons. Matt Ouimet was a director of Collective Brands, Inc., where he served on the audit and finance committee. In June 2011, Ouimet was named president of
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included-w ...
. He assumed the CEO position on January 3, 2012. On October 4, 2017, it was announced by Cedar Fair that Ouimet would be stepping down, having Richard A. Zimmerman succeed him. However, it was also announced that Ouimet would take the newly created role of Executive Chairman.


Personal life

As of 2013, Ouimet lives in
Avon Lake, Ohio Avon Lake is a city in northeastern Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern shore of Lake Erie about 17 miles west of Cleveland. The population was 25,206 at the 2020 Census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. H ...
. He is married and has two grown children.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouimet, Matt Living people 1958 births American chairpersons of corporations American chief executives American chief financial officers American chief operating officers Binghamton University alumni Cedar Fair Corinthian Colleges Disney Cruise Line Disney executives Disneyland Resort People from Avon Lake, Ohio Walt Disney Parks and Resorts people