{"id":151418,"date":"2026-02-05T01:11:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T01:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/151418\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T01:11:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T01:11:29","slug":"chuck-e-cheese-parent-to-promote-its-cfo-to-president-ceo-dallas-innovates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/151418\/","title":{"rendered":"Chuck E. Cheese Parent To\u00a0Promote Its\u00a0CFO to\u00a0President &\u00a0CEO \u00bb Dallas Innovates"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Scott Drake, newly appointed president and CEO of CEC Entertainment [Photo: CEC Entertainment]<\/p>\n

Irving-based CEC Entertainment (CEC), the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza, has appointed Scott Drake as president and CEO, succeeding David McKillips, effective February 13, 2026.<\/p>\n

Drake has served as chief financial officer since joining the company in 2024.<\/a> Previously, he held senior leadership roles at Farmer Brothers Coffee Co., GameStop Corp., and 7-Eleven, Inc. McKillips has served as president and CEO since 2020, leading the company through post-pandemic stabilization, transformation, and sustained growth, CEC said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder Scott\u2019s financial leadership, CEC strengthened its balance sheet, refinanced its capital structure and delivered growth through key strategic initiatives, and today, the company is in an enviable position among its competitors,\u201d CEC Board Chairman Joshua Acheatel said in a statement. \u201cWe thank David for his outstanding leadership during a pivotal period for the company, and we\u2019re confident that Scott is the right executive to lead CEC as a powerhouse in the dynamic family entertainment space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Targeting continued growth<\/p>\n

Chuck E. Cheese recently completed a comprehensive remodel and brand refresh and has launched several new initiatives including brand extensions such as the new Chuck E. Cheese Adventure World concept and the development of Chuck E. Cheese in licensing and entertainment. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The company opened its first Chuck E. Cheese Adventure World in Arlington <\/a>in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cCEC is operating from a position of strength as we move forward in 2026, and we are prepared to accelerate our expansion domestically and internationally, with brand extensions and diversified revenue streams,\u201d said Drake. \u201cAs the global leader in family entertainment, CEC has the momentum, leadership team and iconic status to achieve continued success in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2026, the company plans to continue expanding its footprint through new Chuck E. Cheese Adventure World locations, the growth of its Mega-Superhero Playgrounds, and additional resort-based Chuck\u2019s Arcades. It will also debut its first Chuck E. Cheese in the U.K. and continue expanding its international presence.<\/p>\n

As of September 29, 2025, CEC and its franchisees operate a total of 657 venues, of which 501 were company-operated venues located in 44 states and Canada. Its franchisees operate a total of 156 venues located in 10 states and 16 foreign countries and territories, including Australia, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Kuwait, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss what\u2019s next. Subscribe\u00a0to\u00a0Dallas\u00a0Innovates.<\/p>\n

Track Dallas-Fort Worth\u2019s business and innovation landscape with our curated news in your inbox Tuesday-Thursday.<\/p>\n

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\tR E A D\u00a0\u00a0 N E X T\t<\/p>\n

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Designed for families with kids 3 to 8 years old, the new active-play concept is “a colossal new experience unlike anything kids have ever seen,” said CEO Randy Forsyth. “Adventure World captures all the fun, laughter and magic families love about Chuck E. Cheese and takes it to a whole new level, with our characters leading the adventure in amazing new ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

UT Dallas researcher Dr. Walter Voit transformed Minecraft\u2019s 170-million-player universe into an advanced virtual training ground\u2014for students and for AI agents tested by DARPA. His team\u2019s Polycraft World uses gameplay to turn classroom theory into real-world expertise, covering topics from synthetic organic chemistry to nuclear plants to semiconductor facilities. Their new startup company, Pedegree Studios, has licensed the core technologies from the university to create a scalable digital pipeline for education and workforce development.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

House of Tangram\u2019s 30-acre slice of the North Texas city’s 100-acre Staybolt Street District includes AI-driven hotels, programmable convention space, two next-gen residential communities, and immersive retail. Its tech layer? Powered by Dallas startup NuStudio.AI.<\/p>\n

\t\"Erica<\/a><\/p>\n

Monica Paul, president of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, describes what’s ahead after Friday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup draw in the Dallas Morning News\u2014after announcing a new host city supporter this week.<\/p>\n

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Fritz\u2019s Adventure will feature an indoor\/outdoor “TreeTops zipline course” that will send guests zipping around the building and back inside again. There will also be extreme slides, underground tunnels, giant treehouses, a multi-level ropes course, and “much more.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scott Drake, newly appointed president and CEO of CEC Entertainment [Photo: CEC Entertainment] Irving-based CEC Entertainment (CEC), the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[62838,62839,27893,27894,62840,116,118,117,62841,62842],"class_list":{"0":"post-151418","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-cec","9":"tag-cec-entertainment","10":"tag-chuck-e-cheese","11":"tag-chuck-e-cheese-adventure-world","12":"tag-david-mckillips","13":"tag-fort-worth","14":"tag-fort-worth-headlines","15":"tag-fort-worth-news","16":"tag-joshua-acheatel","17":"tag-scott-drake"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}