Mark Trinske has been appointed as theme park firm SeaWorld Entertainment’s new vice president of IR, with former IRO and treasurer of two years Gene Ballesteros remaining in charge of treasury, debt IR and relationships with rating agencies.
An advertising graduate from Arizona State University and MBA alumnus of the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Trinske started his career as an IR account executive at former advisory Carl Thompson Associates before running his own consultancy for nine years.
He joins the Orlando-headquartered firm from pawn loan provider EZCORP where he was vice president of IR and corporate communications, having previously held similar positions at Norit and Energy Conversion Devices. Prior to this, he served as director of investor, public and government relations at Affinia Group and as vice president of IR at ProQuest.
Ballesteros is a seasoned treasury professional, having held senior positions at AvMed Health Plans and Burger King. He had been heading IR and treasury at SeaWorld since 2010.
‘We are excited to have Mark join our company and are looking forward to the leadership and experience he brings to our investor relations team,’ says CFO Peter Crage in a company release. ‘I would like to thank Gene for his efforts in building our investor relations program as he now transitions to focus solely on our treasury function.’
The NYSE-listed firm’s share price has been lagging since August 2014 after suffering a sharp drop following the release of Blackfish, a documentary heavily critical of SeaWorld’s treatment of captive killer whales, which prompted open criticism from a number of celebrities including Ewan McGregor and One Direction’s Harry Styles – despite most claims being denied by the firm.
