Former Disney, Six Flags Executive to Lead Cygnus
Steven K. Brown Appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ticketing and E-Commerce Company
Cygnus eTransactions Group, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: CYGT), a leader in ticketing and electronic commerce, today announced that its board of directors has appointed Steven K. Brown to serve as the company's President and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Brown, 39, has 18 years of experience in the theme park industry, including executive responsibility for ticketing at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Most recently, he led the ticket strategy and sales organization for all Six Flags, Inc. (NYSE: SIX) entertainment destinations across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
During his 16 years with Disney, Mr. Brown held positions of increasing responsibility, including serving as the executive leader of the Walt Disney World Ticketing division where he led ticketing strategy, financial planning, operations, technology development and sales training across the Resort's nine gated attractions. In 2002 he was promoted to Vice President of Revenue Management for Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, where he successfully drove dramatic growth in both theme park and hotel revenue through the introduction of new ticket options, improved pricing strategies and by leveraging technology to expand sales distribution channels. During his two years at Six Flags, Brown served as Vice President of Ticket Strategy and Sales, where he successfully grew e-commerce revenue by more than 60%, oversaw the Group Sales division and developed the company's admission pricing strategies.
"We are extremely fortunate to have someone with Steve's rich background and diverse talents take the helm at Cygnus," said Larry Paul, Chairman of the Cygnus Board of Directors. "Steve is an innovative, thoughtful leader with true entrepreneurial spirit and an unparalleled level of experience. We are confident he can leverage existing Cygnus solutions to provide near term revenue growth as well as lead the development of new initiatives that will guide the company into a successful future."
"Cygnus prides itself on providing innovative, easy-to-use and reliable solutions that deliver proven revenue results, and this is an incredible time to join Cygnus given the emerging trends in online ticketing and e-commerce," said Mr. Brown. "As the ticketing, e-commerce, and mobile payments sector continues to evolve rapidly, the opportunities for Cygnus are tremendous. I look forward to working with the dedicated Cygnus team which has developed a robust suite of technology solutions, and building on that success to take this company forward."
Cygnus solutions are currently used by major entertainment companies across America, including 19 Six Flags theme parks and water parks, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, Elitch Gardens and Darien Lake.
Brown received his Master of Business Administration from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta, GA and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL.
About Cygnus
Cygnus delivers powerful ticketing, mobile and e-commerce solutions that help its customers increase sales without adding expensive infrastructure costs. Cygnus' products and services are aimed at a wide variety of paid admission businesses ranging from theme parks and attractions to concerts, live events and sports.
Key solutions for ticket and merchandise sales include mobile commerce, e-commerce, front gate/box office point-of-sale and self-service kiosks. Integrated payment card processing is provided by Cygnus' own payment card processing system, which is also available as a standalone service for easy integration with 3rd party software.
