Tunku Dato’ Ahmad Burhanuddin, a Malaysian, aged 51, was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Themed Attractions and Resorts Sdn Bhd (TAR), a subsidiary company of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, on 1 October, 2009. He also serves as Chief executive Officer of Rakan Riang Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of TAR on October 10, 2009. He also serves as the Deputy President of the Malaysian Association of Amusement Themepark & Family Attractions (MAATFA).

He was tasked to set-up Themed Attractions as the management and operations company for Khazanah’s Leisure and Tourism (L&T) Division with the vision to make it a leading regional L&T player by leveraging both global and local brands to revolutionize this sector in Malaysia and Southeast Asia Region, while maximizing value for all stakeholders.

Prior to his appointment at TAR, he was the Executive Director of CIMB Bank Berhad from May 2006 and had under his direct purview the Bank’s International Branches, the Group Customer Care and Management Support Division and The Corporate Client Solutions which covered group’s relationship with the Government and Multinational Corporations.

He had been with the Commerce Group since 1984 and has 25 years of extensive working experience in senior financial and managerial positions which included, the post of Financial Controller of Commerce Asset-Holding Berhad (now known as CIMB Group Berhad), Executive Director of Commerce Asset Fund Managers Sdn Bhd (now known as CIMB-Principal Asset Management Berhad) and Group Chief Internal Auditor of CAHB and Bumiputera-Commerce Bank Group. He also served in various divisions of the Bank, which include, Finance, Strategic Planning, Retail and Corporate Banking. A qualified accountant, he is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and a member of the Institute of Malaysian Accountants. Prior to his appointment as Executive Director, he headed the Strategic Review Team that looked at the commercial banking arm of the Group and participated actively in the integration exercise between CIMB and BCB. He was also a member of the Group Management Committee and chaired various Management and Risk Committees.

Apart from being the Executive Director of CIMB Bank Berhad as well as Chairman of CIMB Wealth Advisors Berhad and Co-Chairman of CIMB-Principal Asset Management Berhad, he was also a director of CIMB Bank (L) Limited, CIMB-Prinicipal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd, CIMB Insurance Brokers Sdn Bhd and Commerce Agro Ventures Sdn Bhd. Tunku Dato’ Ahmad has also held Directorships on various Boards including those of Public Listed Companies over the years.

He was conferred the Darjah Dato’ Setia Negri Sembilan in 2007 and in 2009 the Darjah Dato’ Paduka Kebesaran Jiwa Mahkota Kelantan Yang Amat Mulia.

Stephen Brian Peet was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Themed Attractions Malaysia on 15th April 2011. Over a period of almost three decades he has experienced all facets of operational management in the Attractions Industry.

From 2001 to 2008, Steve was appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of the Warner Village Theme Park Group based on the Gold Coast in Queensland and oversaw their Sea World, Warner Bros. Movieworld, Wet‘n’Wild Waterworld and Paradise Country theme park businesses as well as their dinner theatre restaurant, Australian Outback Spectacular. Prior to his COO role Steve was the General Manager of Wet’n’Wild Waterworld for 14 years and also served in other management positions at this park for a further 3 years.

Steve was President of the Australian Amusement Leisure & Recreation Association (AALARA) from 2003 to 2005 and also served as a board member of this association for 16 years. He has also been a Board Member of the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA).

Steve is a qualified Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer and served his apprenticeship with Qantas Airlines. His engineering background is still used to assist with design and development elements of Themed Attractions projects as well as establishing preventative maintenance and safety management procedures for the business.

Vallo Mutto is the CFO of Themed Attractions and Resorts Sdn. Bhd responsible for Finance & Accounts, Risk Management and IT Units. He has more than 30 years of experience in financial management and reporting, investment management, asset and liability management, company secretarial, corporate governance and risk management, general administration and management information system fields. He spent most of his working career in the insurance industry including stints as Accountant with Newman Martin and Buchan Ltd., a Lloyd’s broking house in London, from 1994 to 1995 before joining Progressive Insurance Bhd (PIB). He left as CFO/Company Secretary of PIB to join Themed Attractions in October 2011.

He is a fellow of The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), UK, a member of Malaysian Institute of Accountants and holds a MBA in International Management from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.

Idham Ismail joined Themed Attractions in July 2011 as Director, Managing Director’s Office. He was redesignated as Chief Strategy Officer in April 2012.

Prior to joining Themed Attractions, Idham was Chief Strategy Officer at Pos Malaysia Berhad where he was on secondment from Khazanah Nasional Berhad. Idham joined Khazanah in January 2006 where he was eventually appointed Director, Investments.

Idham holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Engineering Mathematics from University of Bristol and Master of Finance from RMIT University, Australia.

Zainal joined Themed Attractions & Resorts Sdn. Bhd (TAR), a wholly owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad on 11th May 2012 as Chief Development Officer, taking on the responsibility of all the developments under TAR which now includes LEGOLAND Malaysia, Kidzania Singapore, Hello Kittown and the Little Big Club at Puteri harbor, Nusajaya, Ocean Quest and Ocean Splash Water Theme Park in Desaru just to name a few.

This movement was the result of an equity restructuring between TAR and Iskandar Investment Berhad’s Peak Alpha Express (PAE) Sdn. Bhd. which was the holding company of IDR Resorts Sdn. Bhd. (IDRR), the Project Holding Company of LEGOLAND Malaysia. Zainal remains as the CEO of IDRR.  

Zainal started the Tourism Development role in Iskandar Malaysia when he joined Iskandar Investment on 1st July 2008 as the Senior Vice President for Leisure & Hospitality before being promoted to the position of CEO, IDRR, a Project Development Vehicle (PDV) of Iskandar Investment set up to execute the proposed development of LEGOLAND Malaysia in Nusajaya, Johor.

Zainal is also a member of Iskandar Malaysia’s Tourism Steering Committee, and participated in the Tourism Work Group of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee (TWG-JMC).

Prior to joining the developments in Iskandar Malaysia, he headed Resorts World’s Genting Theme Park’s operations that involved managing a team 700 members in the day-to-day management and safety operations of the theme park.

In an impactful career spanning over two decades, Zainal served 15 years with Resorts World Bhd in various capacities, including development of First World Indoor Theme Park, Tenancy Management, Human Resources Development and the setting up of Genting International College.

Zainal spent five years as a Lecturer and program Head of Tourism Management of MARA Institute of Technology. He was also a consultant with MSO Associates working with Coopers and Lybrand on various tourism-related studies and master planning consulting.

Beyond Asia, Zainal was with the Department of Recreation of Elk Grove Park District a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, maintaining approximately 473 acres of parks and community athletic fields and facilities. He was also with the Tennessee Valley Authority, providing support for recreation, education, arts and culture as well as service projects for Land Between The Lakes (LBL).

Zainal holds a Masters and Bachelor of Science Degrees in Parks and Recreation Management from Indiana University and Illinois State University as well as Diploma in Tourism Management from Institute Technology MARA.

Philip Whittaker has 20 years’ experience in sports and entertainment marketing, working with leading Australian and global brands.

He is currently the Chief Marketing Officer of Themed Attractions and Resorts, having previously worked as the Head of Corporate Partnership and Commercial Development. Philip started his career in hotel management where he undertook a corporate traineeship with Sheraton Hotels International. This was followed by a move into sports marketing where he worked with many of Australia’s leading sports including the Australian Rugby League, Surf Lifesaving Australia, Ladies Professional Golf, World Masters Games, V8 Supercars and the Australian Sports Commission. He has held senior marketing and commercial roles with Warner Village Theme Parks, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and the Goodwill Games and has successfully established and managed leading marketing and communications agencies with a blue-chip client base across leisure, tourism, entertainment, financial services and all levels of government.

During this time, Philip has developed an extensive corporate network and has secured over USD $70 million in sponsorship and licensing revenues and successfully developed and managed multi-million dollar projects and marketing programs for leading Australian and international brands.

Philip holds a degree in Hotel Management (with Distinction) from Griffith University and a Masters of Business in Marketing (with Distinction) from Queensland University of Technology. He is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute and a Certified Practising Marketer. He is the past National President of Sponsorship Australasia Association and in 2011 was entered into Sponsorship Australasia Association’s Hall of Fame.

Hishamuddin Bin Mon joined Themed Attraction since 8 December 2011 as Director Human Capital, fully responsible for Human Resource and Corporate Administration division.

Hishamuddin brought with him more than 24 years of Human Resources experiences in local, multi-national and regional companies. He has extensive exposures in multiple industries such as highway operators, manufacturing, fast moving consumer goods, financial services, automotive, cosmetics, fast food, retails, poultry, construction, travels and tours.

Hishamuddin graduated in Economics from University of Malaya and Diploma in Personnel Management from Malaysian Institute of Personnel Management. He also attended Executive Development Program in INSEAD and Strategic HR Management Certificate with Asian Institute of Management.