John Osborne appointed as Dreamworld CEO

Ardent Leisure has appointed a new chief executive for Australian theme park Dreamworld, John Osborne, who will also take over as the company’s new CEO of its theme parks division.

Osborne, who previously held a number of executive positions at several tourism and hospitality companies across three decades, will take over from acting theme parks CEO Nicole Noye in November.

The announcement comes almost two years since Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids ride tragedy. Osborne expressed his condolences in a statement: “A key reason for my decision to join the team is the Ardent Board’s very strong focus on the welfare and safety of guests and employees and my priority is to work closely with the team to continue this work.”