If you’ve celebrated a child’s birthday at Chuck E. Cheese, visited Six Flags or taken a swing at Topgolf with coworkers, you’ve encountered a brand that has been part of David McKillips’ career in entertainment. McKillips, 54, has spent three decades working with well-known American entertainment brands, including during periods of change and financial difficulty. After getting his start at theme parks SeaWorld and Sesame Place, he spent a decade at DC Comics in New York City. He later joined Six Flags, where he worked during a debt restructuring, before leading Chuck E. Cheese through its pandemic-era bankruptcy. He is now CEO of Topgolf International, which combines golf with dining and social entertainment.
He has built a career around the business of fun.
“Every brand I have worked with has been in the business of creating memories,” McKillips said. “The families that walked into Chuck E. Cheese on a Saturday afternoon, the guests who showed up at a Six Flags park for the first time — they were not coming for the product. They were coming for the feeling. My job has always been to make sure the feeling is worth it.”
“They were not coming for the product. They were coming for the feeling. My job has always been to make sure the feeling is worth it.”
— David McKillips — CEO, Topgolf International
A career in entertainment
Before anyone knew McKillips as a turnaround CEO, he was cutting his teeth in the entertainment industry doing something considerably more glamorous: working with major celebrities and sports icons at Warner Bros. and DC Comics.
“My background in entertainment IP shaped everything that came after it,” McKillips said.
From Warner Bros., McKillips moved to Six Flags, where he spent 13 years building what would become the foundation of his operating philosophy. He launched Six Flags Media Networks — the company’s sponsorship and licensing division. Then, he ran the In-Park Services Department, overseeing all operational revenue, managing employees across all U.S. parks. Next, he rose to SVP of International Operations, helping develop what became the first theme park in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Six Flags Qiddiya, one of the most ambitious theme park developments in history, which includes the tallest, fastest and longest coaster in history, Falcon’s Flight, which opened last December.
Chuck E. Cheese’s Next Chapter
McKillips’ time at Chuck E. Cheese brought significant business challenges, including navigating the pandemic and the company’s bankruptcy.
He joined CEC Entertainment, the parent company of Chuck E. Cheese, as President and CEO on January 21, 2020. Six weeks later, a global pandemic closed every one of their locations. The company lost roughly 90 percent of its revenue overnight. By June 2020, CEC had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Most people would have quietly updated their LinkedIn and moved on. McKillips did not.
Instead, he oversaw the financial reorganization, raised new capital to rebuild the brand from the inside out. He remodeled every location, adding new entertainment, games, upgraded the pizzas and prizes. Then, he launched a new membership program and focused on development, expanding Chuck E. Cheese internationally, and created a global licensing and entertainment division to extend the brand’s beloved characters into film, television, and digital platforms.
One publication memorably wrote that under McKillips, “the ‘E’ in Chuck E. Cheese might as well stand for ‘experiment.’” Coming from a trade publication not known for its compliments, that read as high praise.
From the mouse house to the clubhouse
In February 2026, McKillips became CEO of Topgolf International, a brand that aims to make golf accessible to a wider audience, including people new to the sport. With many venues globally and the Toptracer ball-tracking technology powering both its bays and major broadcast golf coverage, Topgolf combines sports and social entertainment, bringing together areas that align with McKillips’ experience.
“Topgolf is the gateway to golf,” he said. “Topgolf introduced the sport socially and casually, removing barriers and making it accessible to all. We make golf fun, welcoming and our new programs will make it a repeatable experience.”
His appointment came as private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners completed a $1.1 billion acquisition of a majority stake in the company, with McKillips taking on responsibility for guiding Topgolf’s next phase. Since he took over, new venues have opened, leadership changes have been made, and McKillips has reportedly visited all 100-plus venues in his first 100 days on the job.
McKillips has already announced a two-pronged strategy to win back the golfer and make sure Topgolf has the appeal to the social user as well. For the golfer, he’s committed to create 10 million new golfers by 2030 with new competitions, virtual courses, leagues, struck an endorsement deal and media campaign with John Daly and inked partnerships with Spark Golf and World Series of Golf.
To appeal to guests looking for a social outing, McKillips is drawing on his experience at Chuck E. Cheese and exploring ideas such as arcades at Topgolf locations, pickleball courts and even curling at venues in Wisconsin and Minnesota during the winter. These possibilities, alongside efforts aimed at avid golfers, could help shape a new membership program targeted for early 2027.
For someone who has spent his career in the business of making people feel good, this next chapter may be his biggest stage yet.
“Topgolf introduced the sport socially and casually, removing barriers and making it accessible to all. We make golf fun, welcoming and our new programs will make it a repeatable experience.”
— David McKillips — CEO, Topgolf International
The post Chuck E. Cheese and now Topgolf: Meet the CEO who has made a career out of working at America’s favorite fun brands appeared first on Page Six.
