Feature newsmaker/teitelman/10-19/dt1st/mark2nd
It might seem a peculiar career path: going from a top executive at L.A’s biggest newspaper to head its biggest theme park. But Robert Brisco says it’s a natural jump.
“You have to go back to my ‘other’ career as a management consultant,” said Brisco, former senior vice president of advertising at the Los Angeles Times and now president of Universal Studios Hollywood. “I specialized in consumer packaged goods (and) the travel-and-leisure and service industries, which gives me a good background for this.”
Brisco, 35, was referring to the job he took after getting his MBA from UCLA, when he worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Co. That served as a career springboard, since the Times was a client of his. In addition, he worked at McKinsey for Cathy Nichols, current chairwoman of Universal Recreation Group. Nichols offered Brisco the Universal job.
As president of Universal Studios Hollywood, Brisco will supervise not only the operations of the theme park, but Universal CityWalk and Universal City Cinemas.
He stressed that he didn’t leave the Times because he was unhappy.
“The Times is one of the great newspapers in the history of the world. It’s tough to leave such a great place and such wonderful people,” he said. “I’ve gotten so much from the Times, my marketing, sales and strategic planning skills, helping another consumer-oriented franchise, not to mention deep experience in marketing to the Southern California market.”
Part of Brisco’s responsibilities at the Times was overseeing the paper’s Web sites, something that will come in handy for him at Universal. “The Recreation Group is developing a comprehensive Web marketing strategy, and I will be playing an advisory role,” he said.
Brisco will be involved with new and enhanced attractions, more activities for park visitors, and an “overall enhancement of the quality of the guest experience.”
Part of that will involve changes at CityWalk. The mall is undergoing an expansion that will see the addition of a new food court, among other things.
Karen Teitelman
