David Mckillips, CEO of CEC who replaced Tom Leverton back in 2020, who sadly walked in during the middle of COVID and then a bankruptcy, but then also proceeded to fumble around for 6 years dragging the brand’s feet at any possible turn (especially 2021-2023, where the brand was basically on auto pilot), has FINALLY stepped down.
Replacing him is Scott Drake, who had joined around the same time as Mark Kupferman as Chief Financial Officer in 2024. Unlike Mark, Randy, or David Deck, who are other executives the fandom is aware of or who have interacted with the various PR stunts, Scott is basically a clean slate, and its unsure what his intentions with the brand will be.
Unlike the rest of CEC which consist of Six Flags executives, Scott comes from roles at Farmer Brothers Coffee, GameStop and 7-Eleven.
No immediate game plan was set out in the press releases, and likely any things that were already set in motion will continue as they were this year (unless he’s bold enough to immediately steer the ship a new direction). Scott is replacing David on February 12th officially.
Things to look out for in terms of Scott’s change in planning will be the funding of the Entertainment Department (please spare Matt and give him some budget to make shows), the expansion of active play in CEC’s, the launching of further Adventure Worlds, the launching of Chuck’s Arcades, global expansion, merch licensing, the CEC TV series, and his stance on AI.
I think the community should rightfully take this with an open mind and see how this goes. Be aware that some bold claims will likely be made that won’t come to immediate fruition, like David claiming for 6 years a CEC movie would happen. Otherwise, hope the brand actually does better from this! We are @BankruptcyBelievers because under David’s direction the brand was always going to spiral, but at the end of the day we want the company to succeed and keep all of its workers with a stable job.
I’ll end with David’s ‘i got voted out by the board of directors and all i got was this lame t-shirt’ message:
After six amazing years, I am stepping down as President and CEO of the most spectacular family entertainment and restaurant company, CEC Entertainment. I have enjoyed every day of my tenure here and feel that it is a great time for a transition, with a fantastic leadership team in place, strong momentum in the business, a solid strategy for 2026 and long-term plan in place.
We accomplished a lot together—overcoming Covid-19, a bankruptcy and debt restructuring, a complete brand transformation, remodeling nearly 500 Fun Centers, launching new brand extensions and LTO’s at Peter Piper Pizza, opening locations in new countries globally and solidifying Chuck E. Cheese as one of the next major entertainment IPs with our recent animated special.
What I’m most proud of is the commitment we made to our people, being named in U.S. News & World Report Best Companies to Work For, our Glassdoor ratings leading the FEC category, along with the lowest turnover in a decade. We prioritized our people who put our guests first—a perfect combination, and I know the best is still to come!
To my family and all the partners, friends, Cast & Team-members I’ve worked alongside with, especially this incredible Leadership Team! I sincerely thank you for making this purpose-led company the most amazing experience ever!
