LEDO’s two principals, Mel Cecil and Thor Degelmann, each have over 35 years of experience in planning, developing, opening and operating themed leisure entertainment destination and resort projects. Professionally, they grew up in the themed entertainment business. During their careers with the Walt Disney Company, it is fair to say that each helped shape the theme park industry by virtue of their key leadership positions on major, international projects, including Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and the Euro Disney Resort, near Paris, France. Their Disney work involved concept through opening.

Each has extensive experience within his areas of expertise, at all levels of responsibility. Each also has been responsible for all aspects of the process involved in taking a project from idea to opening and beyond. They are experienced leaders who have developed complex leisure entertainment projects and then also have successfully operated them.



Mel Cecil has extensive experience in leisure destination and real estate development and entitlements and theme park master planning, construction and operations. Prior to becoming one of the founding principals and President of LEDO International Inc., he was Vice President, Operations Design for Disneyland International, where he directed the design of $200 million post-opening expansion plans and coordinated the creative efforts for confidential, new theme park project developments.

Mel’s expertise lies in strategic and business planning, project development and construction and facilities management. He has extensive experience in master planning complex projects, from theme parks and resort destinations to commercial and mixed-use developments. His experience in design management includes supervising the work of 1,000 technical employees, including a 30-person architecture and engineering department. He has also managed a $600 million portfolio of commercial properties and was responsible for the entitlement of 33 separate land parcels totaling 7,468 acres.



Thor Degelmann, founding principal and Chief Executive Officer of LEDO International Inc., brings exceptional international experience in people management, administration, resort and theme park operations and project development to the LEDO team. Most of Thor’s career has been spent in start-up or expanding organization environments. He has managed projects and organizations in international, multi-cultural environments and developed the manpower and organization master plan for a project that grew from less than 10 to 17,000 employees over a short period of time.

Thor is also a seasoned operations expert who has developed and implemented operating plans for resort destinations, theme parks, museums, and other leisure attractions. He has extensive experience in operations master planning, including capacities studies, attractions evaluations, design specifications and establishment of operations design criteria. His expertise extends to operational program development, operational input and planning to concept development, component selection, viability analysis and operational policies and procedures development.


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