OUR TEAM
Mark Wijman ICAE
Executive Director
Miriam Saridi
Director
Carlos Miranda
Director
Mark Wijman ICAE
Executive Director
Mark Wijman ICAE is Executive Director at AEDP.
Over the past 25 years he has operated, managed and consulted on Theme Parks, Water Parks, Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism Planning, Destination Resort Development, Urban Regeneration and the Economics and Financial Feasibility of mixed-use urban projects which often entail market analysis, programming, financial analysis, economic impact analysis, management planning and investment analysis.
With AEDP Mark’s experience encompasses worldwide projects ranging from visitor attraction and theme park feasibility, economic impact analysis, redevelopment and improvement strategies, resorts and mixed used developments and due diligence for acquisitions and investors.
Since 1995 Mark worked his way up in the industry from operations to general management working at theme parks large and small in The Netherlands, France, Norway, Germany and Russia before moving to Asia in 2015 having been appointed General Manager of Asia Park in Vietnam. Subsequently he moved to Hong Kong where he joined AECOM and later Lan Kwai Fong Group. In 2019 Mark founded AEDP with longtime collaborator Miriam Saridi.
Mark authored a series of articles on the visitor attraction industry and is a frequent speaker and panellist at industry conferences as well as a guest lecturer in the academic field and is an IAAPA Certified Attractions Executive (ICAE).
Mark has a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in International Management from the University of Amsterdam Business School, The Netherlands as well as a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) in Leisure Management from Breda University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands. He also participated in programs at Stanford University, Vanderbilt University and Arizona State University.
Miriam Saridi
Director
Miriam Saridi is a Director with AEDP. In her role she focusses on development strategies, business planning, strategic advisory, economic analysis and, financial forecasting.
She has a multidisciplinary role with AEDP combining her strong business acumen with the leadership of the AEDP research and analytics team.
She joined AEDP in 2020 working with long-time collaborator Mark Wijman and was promoted to Director in 2023.
Miriam has traveled and lived in numerous countries equipping her with the tools to be successful in different cultures including Austria, Belgium, Colombia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom and The United States.
Given Miriam’s broad international experience, she brings global perspective to every project.
Prior to joining AEDP, Miriam was with Vineland and Partners (V&P) in Hong Kong, a visitor attractions consultant. With V&P she focused on management assignments for large visitor attractions in Hong Kong, Russia and Vietnam. Her additional experience includes terms with investment groups, developers and public sector organizations.
Miriam has a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Law with Honors from the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies from the University of Tsukuba, Japan and a Master of Arts in Health Law from the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Carlos Miranda
Director
Carlos Miranda serves as a Director with AEDP, working mostly with clients in the Americas. He is the Principal and Founder of Methodology – a creative services company in Los Angeles, where he currently leads several re development efforts for one of the largest regional park-resort operators in the world.
Previously he was the Director of Program Management with AECOM where he was an integral part of a projects executive leadership team, working directly with international design firms, specialty consultants, A&E professionals, operators and local design institutes to recommend overall organizational structure and implementation strategies informed by economic study and market analysis intended to promote the successful development of international entertainment, leisure & integrated resort projects.
He’s had over 23 years of experience in the Asia, Middle East and Europe in leading theme park and location based experiences. Carlos is a proven leader in creative development and production of themed rides, shows and immersive environments inspired by an extensive portfolio of intellectual properties. He is highly experienced in global construction techniques, facility integration and installation, as well as site supervision.
He was a strategic partner for concept and schematic design of US$21 million indoor theme park on behalf of Triple5 developer and first order immersive location based developments across five cities in Europe on behalf of operator Parques Reunidos. Provided overall design direction for theme in addition to over 35 rides and attractions featuring Nickelodeon characters such as SpongeBob, Dora the Explorer and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
He provided concept and schematic design management of themed attractions for a US$1.5 billion world’s largest indoor theme park development; Warner Bros. Movie World Abu Dhabi, producing “first of its kind” interactive media based dark rides and reimagined ride systems showcasing animated DC Comics, Looney Toons and Hanna-Barbera characters.
For Universal Studios Singapore he led creative effort to produce conceptual and schematic level design documentation for new Universal & DreamWorks Studio branded attractions like Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure and Canopy Flyer for the US$300 million 90-acre theme park and resort development.