The Managing Director Awards 2026 Amusement Parks MD of the Year 2026 (Poland): Zaneta Gutowska-Rukszan Majaland is a family‑focused theme park brand operated by Momentum Leisure, itself a leader in world-class amusement parks across Central and Eastern Europe. Three locations comprise the Majaland Family, with one in each of Warsaw, Kownaty, and Gdańsk, respectively. Zaneta GutowskaRukszan has been the managing director of Majaland since 2024 and with the brand since 2022, and caught up with her following this recognition here in our coveted Managing Director Awards 2026. A series of popular, family-friendly amusement parks in Poland, Majaland offers a range of indoor and outdoor attractions, and is famous for characters like Maya the Bee and Vicky the Viking, in addition to collaborations with international franchises like SpongeBob and the Smurfs. The result is year-round entertainment from over 75 attractions spread across its three locations, including rollercoasters, playgrounds, water zones, and more. Bringing joy to children and adults alike across Poland, Majaland has achieved some remarkable feats over the last few months alone, including work on its new theme park in Gliwice and officially joining the Netherlands-Polish Chamber of Commerce. All of this has taken place alongside an underlying focus on refining the offerings at its existing parks, such as the opening of a Smurf-themed birthday room at its location in Gdańsk, on the back of the successful launch of its Smurf Pizza Corner at the same park the year before. This is all just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Majaland’s three Polish theme parks, which also offer a number of exciting events on key dates throughout the year, including opportunities to watch performance, meet characters, and event learn about the natural world through workshops and activities. At Christmas time, these parks even transform into magic lands full of lights, decorations, and themed attractions, making Majaland great for school trips, group visits, family days out, and pretty much anything else in between. “Where the world of fairytales becomes reality.” Beginning her career in engineering and automotive roles, Majaland’s future MD Zaneta Gutowska-Rukszan settled into HR-related positions, spending nearly 15 years as a director across two companies in Poland, before making the jump over to Majaland in 2022. After 18 months spent doing what she knew best – HR – Zaneta was promoted to the co-CEO for a short time. She quickly pivoted to managing director and board member eight months later, and has occupied both of these roles for two years. Zaneta’s tenure with Majaland has aligned with the brand successfully executing a number of growth and transformation strategies, and this is no coincidence. Across her role at the head of the parks, Zaneta delivers purpose, people, and long-term value, beginning with a focus on her team and employing the same hands-on approach across everything from setting the vision to establishing the culture. At every turn., Zaneta can be found using the insights gained across her diverse career to help drive success. Her HR experience has been especially useful in developing Zaneta into the leader she is today, as she explained: “Working in HR allowed me to better understand talent development, leadership, organisational culture, and change management. It also helped me see how strongly business results are linked to employee engagement, trust, and clear communication.” This is amplified in a business like Majaland, where striking a balance between operational detail and humanity is key given the sector it operates in. “Growth is not only measured by new locations, but by the strength of our teams, leadership development, and the consistency of the guest experience.” With growth on the cards, the bright future Majaland has ahead of it is certainly linked to the diverse expertise and dynamic approach of its managing director. Utilising her HR background to deliver a peoplecentred approach, Zaneta Gutowska-Rukszan is helping to deliver expansion, yes, but what is more impressive is that she is building a resilient, values-driven brand for Momentum Leisure, supported at every turn by strong teams, clear principles, and a commitment to setting the standard for theme park quality. Named the Amusement Parks MD of the Year 2026 (Poland) for the fantastic work she is doing across the Majaland brand, we are delighted to feature Zaneta with a place in this programme. More on her impact can be found not only in every great customer experience delivered across the three parks, but also on the both Majaland website listed below and her LinkedIn profile, the latter of which can be found here. Contact: Zaneta Gutowska-Rukszan Company: Majaland Web Address: https://majaland.pl/
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