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President and CEO Marcus Theatres
Rolando Rodriguez had already left the exhibition business when he was offered the top job at Rave Cinemas. Rodriguez had established himself as a veteran figure in the exhibition industry throughout a storied career at AMC before taking an executive role at Walmart. He returned to exhibition and was a key factor in turning around Rave Cinemas, culminating in the circuit's sale to Cinemark in May 2013. Rodriguez wasn't out of the exhibition business for long thereafter, as he was appointed president and CEO of Marcus Theaters that same summer. Now a year into his tenure at Marcus, BoxOffice catches up with the veteran exhibition executive to talk more about the business.
Interview by Daniel Loria
You're a veteran in the exhibition business. What made Marcus such an enticing option for you at this point in your career?
My career track really started, within the industry. I spent 30 years with AMC and took a side trip with Walmart, where I spent nearly five years. I was recruited to become the president and CEO of Rave Cinemas, which was owned by a private equity group. Their intention was to spin off that circuit within a threeto five-year period of time based on turning the company around and achieving the kind of returns we were looking for. We were fortunate enough to have a great team that was able to do that in a two-and-half-year period of time. I also sit on the NATO Executive Board of Directors, where Steve Marcus also sat for those years I was in charge of Rave, and we got to know each other. The timing for me was perfect, since Bruce Olson, my predecessor in this position, decided to retire after a long and distinguished career right around the time we sold Rave. I was one of the several candidates that Marcus was considering and, through the course of many...