Former magazine editor Deborah Thomas has replaced Greg Shaw as CEO of the Ardent Leisure Group following Shaw’s decision to retire after nearly 13 years in the role.

Shaw will stand down at the end of the fiscal year, resigning as director of the Australian company – which among other things operates Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, AMF Bowling centres and a growing US entertainment business.

Thomas will start in her new role from April, previously operating within Ardent Leisure as a non-executive director. She brings extensive experience to the CEO role, having previously operated as editor-in-chief for Australian Women’s Weekly, the largest selling magazine in the country. She was also director of media, public affairs and brand development across Bauer Media's portfolio of 70-plus titles and magazine websites. In 2012 Thomas was elected to local government as a Councillor for Woollahra, where she is chair of the Community and Environment Committee, as well as Chair of the Woollahra Public Art Trust.

Thanking Shaw for his service, Thomas said: "Greg has built a great platform of assets and management team on which I will build, with a strong focus on marketing, customer service and product innovation across all of our facilities.”

Following the announcement, Ardent stock slumped as much as 68¢ to AU$1.75, but has since recovered to around AU$1.965. In response, Ardent chair, Neil Balnaves, said that over the past 15 months Thomas has developed a thorough understanding of the Ardent’s diverse portfolio of businesses, and had previous success during her decade in charge of Australian Women’s Weekly.

“The group’s future will be increasingly focused on positioning our businesses to deliver world class customer entertainment and leisure experiences, to maximise organic revenue and profit growth opportunities,” added Balnaves.