Wanda hires former Disney exec to run theme parks

Dalian Wanda Group, controlled by billionaire Wang Jianlin, has hired the former head of Hong Kong Disneyland to run its amusement parks, according to The Wall Street Journal. Andrew Kam will serve as vice president of Wanda’s Cultural Tourism Group, which is planning to build and operate a series of large-scale theme parks across China. Two of the parks have already opened this year in the second-tier cities of Nanchang and Hefei. Mr. Kam, who joined Hong Kong Disneyland in 2008, guided Disney’s park to its first profit in 2011 after years of losses due to lower-than-expected attendance. The Hong Kong park fell back into the red last year, with Mr. Kam attributing part of the loss to a 23% decline in mainland visitors to Hong Kong.