SASEBO, Nagasaki Pref. (Kyodo) Daisuke Takeuchi, the newly appointed CEO of amusement park operator Huis Ten Bosch Co., had never visited a theme park before being named acting administrator of the firm here in December.

"I visited only Osaka Expo (in 1970) when I was a student," said Takeuchi, 56.

The former senior executive at Nomura Securities Co. had been with Japan's largest securities firm for about 30 years, and was posted in London, Paris and other European cities for more than 10 years, working in the investment banking business.