HONG KONG (25 March 2008) Madame Tussauds has appointed an industry veteran to the key role of General Manager, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong and Shanghai: Bret Pidgeon.

Bret joins Madame Tussauds Hong Kong and Shanghai after eight years working for Madame Tussauds in New York: most recently as its Acting General Manager.

Bret joined the Merlin Entertainments Group in 2000 as a Guest Experience Manager, managing the day to day operations of the 85,000 sq ft Madame Tussauds in Times Square

Less than a year later he was promoted to Commercial Manager, managing the commercial areas of the attraction, including Retail, Food & Beverage, and Photography.

Bret was then appointed Director of Operations, where he remained for six years until his recent Acting General Manager role.

It was this tenure as Acting General Manager for Madame Tussauds New York in the last quarter of 2007 which highlighted Bret’s suitability for the Madame Tussauds Hong Kong and Shanghai position.

While in New York Bret provided support and guidance to six company directors in the Operations, Finance, Trade Sales, Marketing, IT, and Human Resources areas; at the same time ensuring delivery of target annual admissions and annual revenue goals.

There Bret aggressively implemented ideas and activities to further develop additional revenue streams.

He also demonstrated a clear commitment to achieving high standards of guest service as well as a continual commitment to improving cost efficiencies for the attraction while maintaining key performance indicators.

Bret has played an integral role in the opening teams for the attraction in New York in 2000, Shanghai in 2006 and Washington DC in 2007. He was also Project Champion for the redesign of the retail store and café at Madame Tussauds New York; and was nominated for Manager of the Year – Tussauds Group in 2006.

Prior to working for Merlin Entertainments Group Bret had a seven year career as Senior Manager at Planet Hollywood in the flagship New York City location.

Bret holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University.