If you’ve commemorated a kid’s birthday at Chuck E. Cheese, went to Six Flags or taken a swing at Topgolf with colleagues, you’ve come across a brand name that has actually belonged to David McKillips’profession in home entertainment. McKillips, 54, has actually invested 3 years dealing with popular American home entertainment brand names, consisting of throughout durations of modification and monetary trouble. After getting his start at amusement park SeaWorld and Sesame Place, he invested a years at DC Comics in New York City. He later on signed up with Six Flags, where he worked throughout a financial obligation restructuring, before leading Chuck E. Cheese through its pandemic-era personal bankruptcy. He is now CEO of Topgolf International, which integrates golf with dining and social home entertainment.
He has actually constructed a profession around business of enjoyable.
“Every brand name I have actually dealt with has actually remained in business of producing memories,” McKillips stated. “The households that strolled into Chuck E. Cheese on a Saturday afternoon, the visitors who appeared at a Six Flags park for the very first time– they were not coming for the item. They were coming for the sensation. My task has actually constantly been to ensure the sensation deserves it.”
“They were not coming for the item. They were coming for the sensation. My task has actually constantly been to make certain the sensation deserves it.”
— David McKillips– CEO, Topgolf International
A profession in home entertainment
Before anybody understood McKillips as a turn-around CEO, he was cutting his teeth in the show business doing something significantly more attractive: dealing with significant stars and sports icons at Warner Bros. and DC Comics.
“My background in home entertainment IP formed whatever that followed it,” McKillips stated.
From Warner Bros., McKillips relocated to Six Flags, where he invested 13 years developing what would end up being the structure of his running approach. He released Six Flags Media Networks– the business’s sponsorship and licensing department. He ran the In-Park Services Department, supervising all functional income, handling staff members throughout all U.S. parks. Next, he increased to SVP of International Operations, assisting establish what ended up being the very first amusement park in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Six Flags Qiddiya, among the most enthusiastic amusement park advancements in history, that includes the highest, fastest and longest rollercoaster in history, Falcon’s Flight, which opened last December.
Chuck E. Cheese’s Next Chapter
McKillips’ time at Chuck E. Cheese brought considerable service difficulties, consisting of browsing the pandemic and the business’s personal bankruptcy.
He signed up with CEC Entertainment, the moms and dad business of Chuck E. Cheese, as President and CEO on January 21, 2020. 6 weeks later on, a worldwide pandemic closed each of their places. The business lost approximately 90 percent of its income over night. By June 2020, CEC had actually applied for Chapter 11 insolvency security.
Many people would have silently upgraded their LinkedIn and proceeded. McKillips did not.
Rather, he managed the monetary reorganization, raised brand-new capital to reconstruct the brand name from the within out. He renovated every place, including brand-new home entertainment, video games, updated the pizzas and rewards. He introduced a brand-new subscription program and focused on advancement, broadening Chuck E. Cheese worldwide, and developed an international licensing and home entertainment department to extend the brand name’s precious characters into movie, tv, and digital platforms.
One publication memorably composed that under McKillips, “the ‘E’ in Chuck E. Cheese may also represent ‘experiment.'” Originating from a trade publication not understood for its compliments, that checked out as full marks.
From the mouse home to the clubhouse
In February 2026, McKillips ended up being CEO of Topgolf International, a brand name that intends to make golf available to a broader audience, consisting of individuals brand-new to the sport. With numerous locations worldwide and the Toptracer ball-tracking innovation powering both its bays and significant broadcast golf protection, Topgolf integrates sports and social home entertainment, uniting locations that line up with McKillips’ experience.
“Topgolf is the entrance to golf,” he stated. “Topgolf presented the sport socially and delicately, getting rid of barriers and making it available to all. We make golf enjoyable, inviting and our brand-new programs will make it a repeatable experience.”
His visit came as personal equity company Leonard Green & & Partners finished a $1.1 billion acquisition of a bulk stake in the business, with McKillips handling obligation for directing Topgolf’s next stage. Given that he took control of, brand-new locations have actually opened, management modifications have actually been made, and McKillips has actually supposedly gone to all 100-plus locations in his very first 100 days on the task.
McKillips has actually currently revealed a two-pronged technique to recover the golf player and make certain Topgolf has the attract the social user also. For the golf enthusiast, he’s dedicated to develop 10 million brand-new golf enthusiasts by 2030 with brand-new competitors, virtual courses, leagues, struck a recommendation offer and media project with John Daly and tattooed collaborations with Spark Golf and World Series of Golf.
To interest visitors trying to find a social getaway, McKillips is making use of his experience at Chuck E. Cheese and checking out concepts such as games at Topgolf areas, pickleball courts and even curling at locations in Wisconsin and Minnesota throughout the winter season. These possibilities, along with efforts targeted at devoted golf enthusiasts, might assist form a brand-new subscription program targeted for early 2027.
For somebody who has actually invested his profession in the company of making individuals feel excellent, this next chapter might be his greatest phase.
“Topgolf presented the sport socially and delicately, eliminating barriers and making it available to all. We make golf enjoyable, inviting and our brand-new programs will make it a repeatable experience.”
— David McKillips– CEO, Topgolf International
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