Geoff Thatcher
Known by his peers for his infectious creativity and enthusiasm, Geoff Thatcher is an experienced creative leader who knows how to take a project from concept to reality. For most of his career, these projects have been about world-class experiences in theme parks, museums, visitor centers, brand experiences and live events.
Geoff’s eclectic background always delivers a fresh perspective as his experience includes everything from the grand opening of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi to the renovated American Airlines Museum in Texas. Whether it’s the world’s largest video dome on a beach in Dubai or the opening ceremonies of the Rio 2007 Pan American Games in Maracanā Stadium, Geoff has been there. Recent and current projects include leading the creative for the FM Global Innovation Studio in Boston and a new special effects theater and brand experience center for the same company in Singapore. He helped introduce the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia to Hollywood in 2018 and has led the initial visioning on four new attractions in the Middle East for Miral. His concepts can be seen in places as diverse as Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi and world’s largest diamond trade show in Las Vegas. During his long tenure as Executive Creative Director for The Brand Experience, his Clients included Fortune 500 icons such as IBM, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin along with institutions and non-profits such as The Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health and King Abdullah Foundation.
Geoff is a student of the themed entertainment industry who got his start working as a teenage clean-up boy, lifeguard, train engineer and stuntman at Lagoon Amusement Park. In fact, he’s currently putting the final touches on a book about what it was like growing up at a theme park. As an adult, he got his start in the experience economy at Cincinnati’s JRA where he spent seven years as a creative writer. Since founding Creative Principals in 2017, he’s partnered with JRA on a number of projects, including the Louisville Slugger Museum, Children’s Museum of Minnesota in Rochester and World of Volvo.
He is a writer and teacher who has ghostwritten books, published blogs and even facilitated a leadership communication workshop at The CIA University (yes, that CIA). In 2020, he published his first book The CEO’s Time Machine that reviewers have called “clever,” “thought provoking,” “stunning” and “amazing.”
He is a 1993 graduate of Brigham Young University in journalism with a minor in anthropology. He and his wife Tanya have three children, the oldest of which illustrated The CEO’s Time Machine.
