Matt Ouimet

Is it just me or do we hear/see less of him than we did Kinzel?

I feel like there are less interviews with him and less occurrences at the park with him. I thought of this because I just saw Tony post a pic of him at the park. I thought, wow that's a first.

It seemed Kinzel was always at CP (yes, well he did live there, but still).

Thoughts?

Kinzel was like a an over-controlling father with a fully grown kid fully capable of being on his own when it came to managing Cedar Point. He could just never let go enough to let the people underneath him do their best work and really flourish. He was always overruling decisions and micromanaging things that other people probably had more intimate knowledge of.

I don't see Ouimet as much at CP as I did Kinzel, but I am not there every day and there are other parks that Ouimet might be at (KI, and CW are about equal to CP as far as importance to the company) or he might be at meetings with investors, etc. While it was kind of cool to see Dick walking around CP constantly picking up trash and stuff, it was also a little ridiculous to have a $2+ million dollar a year sweep in a suit.

I saw Ouimet on CNBC today! Maybe that is what prompted your post. If I had any concerns about him, it'd be that he'd return to Disney or other greener pastures. He's had several jobs in a relatively short period of time, but none of them were quite like what he has now so who knows. I hope he sticks around a bit as I like a lot of the things he's done so far.

Ouimet manages the parent company, Cedar Fair. There is already someone reporting to him that leads CP, Jason McClure. The old regime did not understand how the corporate structure operates of a $1 billion company.

kylepark said:
Ouimet manages the parent company, Cedar Fair. There is already someone reporting to him that leads CP, Jason McClure. The old regime did not understand how the corporate structure operates of a $1 billion company.

Great point. I saw Jason at the park on Saturday and Sunday.

I enjoyed Matt's interview on CNBC. I was surprised however on his claim that full time employees make more than minimum wage. Does this sound right? Or is this creative wording, with the international employees making less?

I was thinking the same thing reading the topic of your thread. We definitely don't see Ouimet all the time but what we do see is the ability of each park's GM and staff thrive.

Maybe when Oimet said full time he meant the year-round employees, not the seasonal staff?

MDOmnis said:
While it was kind of cool to see Dick walking around CP constantly picking up trash and stuff, it was also a little ridiculous to have a $2+ million dollar a year sweep in a suit.

I agree. However, I'll add that it is very valuable for execs to leave the comfort of the office on occasion and do the work of the front line employees. Think along the lines of Undercover Boss without the need to be undercover. This brings a greater understanding of what really makes the business run. Seeing them do a week or whatever per year doing the manual labor wouldn't be a bad thing. :)

I definitely don't disagree. I don't even think his walks in the park were bad. I just think he spent far too much time micromanaging Cedar Point and pushing away good people because he was so bent on being in control of everything. Maybe he didn't spend enough time at other parks (even some outside the company or recently acquired parks) getting ideas, listening to people, etc. Kinzel played a huge role in making CP and Cedar Fair what it is today. Had he retired when he originally planned, he'd be a legend and not have a bunch of negativity surrounding him. But he stuck around for too long, overpaid for the Paramount parks, made some questionable calls with personnel and new ride investments over the last few years, and last but not least, tried to sell the company out from under all of the employees and investors for a fraction of what it was worth.

I've been extremely lucky to spend some time with Matt, starting with the interview I did with him a couple of years ago, and a few times since. It's probably because I think everyone else is doing life wrong, but there are few people I've ever respected as leaders. But this guy is the real deal, and at the top of a very short list of people I would love to work for.

He travels a ton, because the company is spread out all over the continent. He also engages the investment and financial communities. When relationships need to be repaired (as with the City of Sandusky), he's there. That said, while he obviously sets the vision and leads the culture for the company, he trusts the people working there to do the work. That's unfortunately rare anywhere, but he's very results driven.

As others have said, Dick was a total micromanager, and frankly his ego nearly killed the company. He more or less admitted that buying Geauga Lake was an ego move (you know how that worked out), he overpaid for Paramount Parks, and he nearly sold the company to private equity when he didn't see a positive outcome to the company's debt problem. Had he retired in 2005 as planned (or whatever year that was), he would have left a positive legacy and be remembered only for growing the company. Now I think that's all overshadowed by the fact that he nearly tanked it after that.

Fun story, back in the first year we did Coasting For Kids, we founded the event as a Cedar Point-only thing. The park was gracious enough to put me and the two GKTW reps up in the "executive apartments," which are the privately used rooms across the parking lot from Famous Dave's. I couldn't help but notice on the form for this free accommodation that there were a couple of signature lines... and one for "RDK." So yeah, the CEO of a billion dollar company had to approve a comp room at one of its 11 parks. I can't imagine being bothered with something like that given the scope of his responsibility.

Here is the CNBC interview from today if anyone is interested:

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000289486&play=1

Kinzel definitely did take things to the point of micromanagement. I'm intrigued that Ouimet appears much more focused on Cedar Fair as a whole for the reasons you guys so eloquently stated.

Those executive apartments are extremely nice... The view of Famous Dave's from the room is pretty awesome as well :)

I think Ouimet is doing an outstanding job... The past few years, the improvements around the park have been incredible. I used to just "like" the park, but I am extremely proud of it now and can't say enough great things about it. It has extremely talented management right now. I can't wait to see what the next few years bring!

I don't think they're nice. I mean, they're nice for free, but they smell old like the rest of Cedars.

I thought the room was pretty darn cool. It was clean, comfortable, the decor was "cute" and the location was perfect. It was great for the night we needed. I do agree it was not top of the line or anything, but it was cozy (I also didn't smell anything when we walked in). Lol

Here's a nice video of the closing bell ceremony from the NYSE's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A3vaf6xgpU

Jeff said:
I've been extremely lucky to spend some time with Matt, starting with the interview I did with him a couple of years ago, and a few times since. It's probably because I think everyone else is doing life wrong, but there are few people I've ever respected as leaders. But this guy is the real deal, and at the top of a very short list of people I would love to work for.

He travels a ton, because the company is spread out all over the continent. He also engages the investment and financial communities. When relationships need to be repaired (as with the City of Sandusky), he's there. That said, while he obviously sets the vision and leads the culture for the company, he trusts the people working there to do the work. That's unfortunately rare anywhere, but he's very results driven.

As others have said, Dick was a total micromanager, and frankly his ego nearly killed the company. He more or less admitted that buying Geauga Lake was an ego move (you know how that worked out), he overpaid for Paramount Parks, and he nearly sold the company to private equity when he didn't see a positive outcome to the company's debt problem. Had he retired in 2005 as planned (or whatever year that was), he would have left a positive legacy and be remembered only for growing the company. Now I think that's all overshadowed by the fact that he nearly tanked it after that.

Fun story, back in the first year we did Coasting For Kids, we founded the event as a Cedar Point-only thing. The park was gracious enough to put me and the two GKTW reps up in the "executive apartments," which are the privately used rooms across the parking lot from Famous Dave's. I couldn't help but notice on the form for this free accommodation that there were a couple of signature lines... and one for "RDK." So yeah, the CEO of a billion dollar company had to approve a comp room at one of its 11 parks. I can't imagine being bothered with something like that given the scope of his responsibility.

One of the reasons I like this site, I rather interesting perspective from someone who has a firsthand perspective. Provides a nice "insider view" for those of us who aren't so lucky.

Back on topic, I've never seen Kinzel or Ouimet in the park. That said, I've never seen Tony either. But I tend to go on Tuesdays and I'm so focused on the rides that I don't people watch that much.

We can all agree to disagree. But Jeff couldn't put it better words.

Remember Apollo. Lucky Knott's Berry Farm family sad step in to block it if I believe correctly was the start of the stopping of the deal. Wasn't the stock offer at 16-19 dollars to.

Quimet also isn't afraid of trying new things and investing in the park instead staying it is good enough.

I.E. Lighting improvements or red-0o's on Power Tower and Millennium. Ripping the ugly white screen down to open up the views of the midway again. Finally credit cards can be used freely throughout the park with out trouble.

I think Matt interacts with the staff very well. His first year as CEO, I went to the park to process our season pass and he was at the toll both, welcomed us and appreciated said he appreciated we were season pass holders. He was just having fun with with the staff.

I see Jason and Tony all the time out walking the midways. They are extremely visible and accessible as they should be. Plus they are very active on Twitter.

Not to be a Kinzel defender but keep in mind his front yard was literally Cedar Point. He spent more time at that particular park because that is where home was. I've never met Ouimet but my understanding is that he bought his Ohio home as much for its proximity to Hopkins as to Sandusky. I also believe he has been pretty open about that fact that his "favorite" park is Knott's Berry Farm, not surprising when you consider his history at Disney.

Yes, Kinzel micromanaged tremendously. He could write a book on the subject. That said, when he was seen at the parks I think he was always doing the "right" thing from an appearance point of view. He picked up trash, talked to employees and was more than willing to stop and chat with the guests and the enthusiasts who recognized him.

He was a pain in the ass...but he wasn't a bad guy.

Yeah 2005 was the year I believe Kinzel was originally supposed to retire. He delayed that due to the acquisition of the Paramount Parks. I wonder today if he doesn't regret staying on at that point due to how things turned out afterwards.

I can see how acquiring the Paramount Parks would have been such a huge deal. If things had gone better (and they had paid less) he might have gone out with a wave of success. Instead, it seems like he was mostly doing damage control for the last 3-5 years he was there.