On the 16th an email was sent to all locations noting a major leadership change for corporate. Jay Spears is stepping down and in his place is Nathan Hunstable. Here’s what David said on the matter:
Dear CEC Team,
After 5 years, Jay Spears will be stepping down as our VP and Chief Information Officer of CEC Entertainment. Jay has done an incredible job since joining our Senior Leadership, navigating the IT Team and Company’s technology through COVID-19 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He’s led our digital brand transformation, launched a data and analytics platform, new loyalty & CRM apps, online ordering with 3pd delivery, and partnered with the Marketing Team to deliver our loyalty and subscriptions programs. He’s worked with the Entertainment Team to build and launch the CEC Media Network, reaching our 40M guests annually across 210 US DMAs. He brought a “yes, and” approach to testing and implementing AI solutions and tools, which will take our Company to the next level in IT innovation.
Most importantly, he’s been a terrific leader for both Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza, and always there volunteering at Company and Community events. He’s a true professional and has built a Team with strong succession that will continue to allow us to lead in innovation and technology. Jay will be working with us for the next couple of months to finish-up some key projects and IT priorities.
Nathan Hunstable will be stepping into the VP and Chief Information Officer role and joining the Senior Leadership Team as we close out our fiscal year. As many of you know, Nathan has done an excellent job as our Chief Information and Security Officer. Nathan’s been at CEC for 18 months and has done a fantastic job elevating our cyber security efforts and contributing greatly to other innovation and technology projects. Before joining CEC, he was the Chief Technology Officer at Cinergy Entertainment, running all aspects of the IT Department and spearheading their mobile app, subscription, kiosk, and several other innovation projects.
On behalf of our entire Leadership Team, I want to say thank you to Jay for his tremendous contributions over the last 5 years and my personal time working together again, first at Six Flags and now at CEC Entertainment. Also, I’d like to congratulate Nathan on his well-deserved promotion and know he and Jay will work together to complete some key projects during the transitionary period and we are excited for the next chapter of innovation and excitement from our IT Team under Nathan’s leadership.
Please recognize and congratulate both Jay and Nathan!
Best Regards,
David
