Coast Entertainment names CMO, strategy chief as growth push accelerates

Coast Entertainment, the owner of Queensland attractions including Dreamworld, has appointed Samantha Saunders (née Clark) as chief marketing officer as part of a broader leadership shake-up to support its next phase of growth.

Saunders, a 20-year veteran of customer, brand and marketing leadership, joins alongside Luke Ingles, a former Barclay Consulting and EY partner, who has been named chief strategy officer.

The appointments come as the business looks to build on a return to positive earnings following several years of recovery.

Group CEO Greg Yong said the hires are designed to accelerate progress across guest experience and long-term strategic development.

“Coast is in a genuinely exciting position,” Yong said. “We’ve rebuilt the foundations - safety, culture, financial discipline and a capital program that’s delivering - and we’re now focused on accelerating what comes next.”

Saunders will lead brand and marketing strategy across the Coast Entertainment portfolio, which includes Dreamworld, WhiteWater World and SkyPoint, with a focus on driving attendance and strengthening brand connection.

Yong said the role will be central to positioning the group’s attractions as leading tourism destinations.

“Samantha brings world-class capability in brand and customer strategy at exactly the right moment,” he said.

“Our guest experience and marketing have improved considerably, but we have real ambition to go further - to build Dreamworld, WhiteWater World and SkyPoint into brands people feel deeply connected to, and to convert that connection into sustainable attendance and revenue growth.”

Ingles will oversee enterprise planning and strategic execution, with a focus on unlocking value across the group’s assets, including its Coomera landholding.

Yong said the appointment reflects the growing importance of long-term development as the business looks ahead to major opportunities such as the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.

“Luke has already been working closely with the business and understands our strategy intimately,” he said.

“The opportunity ahead - including development of our Coomera landholding and the long runway to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics - requires disciplined, commercially rigorous thinking, and Luke brings exactly that.”