30 at 30: Eugene Naughton
Executive MBA – Strategic Leadership Class of 2022
President: The Dollywood Company
Every weekend during his undergraduate years at Radford University, Eugene Naughton made the five-hour drive to Kings Dominion theme park in Richmond, Virginia. Starting Friday evening, he worked back-to-back shifts as an intern, managing a funnel cake location on International Street.
35 years later, as president of The Dollywood Company, Naughton’s work looks very different, but his passion for the theme park industry remains.
Innovating Then and Now
The seventh of eight children, Naughton said he fell in love with theme parks during his family’s annual visits to Disney World. Then, during his undergrad years, Naughton learned about the Kings Dominion internship from a fellow Radford student. This experience sparked a unique career that would span organizations including Six Flags, Paramount, and eventually, Dollywood.
Naughton was an innovator early in his career. During his internship, he became one of the few employees of Kings Dominion to have access to a computer, having convinced company leadership to invest in a digital point-of-sale system.
Later in his career, Naughton had the opportunity to expand his horizons working for Six Flags, overseeing international development. He learned to innovate across cultures, designing theme parks from scratch in multiple countries around the world.
“It was amazing to learn about the different cultures, and I had a lot of fun doing that,” the Dollywood executive said. “It afforded me an opportunity to see the world and to be present for some key moments in history.”
After accepting his current role with The Dollywood Company, Naughton saw another opportunity to innovate and grow, enrolling in the EMBA – Strategic Leadership program at the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business.
Leading by Example
Naughton originally discovered the EMBA-SL program when problem-solving during a staffing shortage. The Dollywood Company was working to fill more than 4,000 open positions, and Naughton knew the company needed a new way to attract prospective employees.
“Staffing is a stressful thing for a lot of businesses,” Naughton explained. “And as a new leader with the company, I realized that if I could solve the staffing equation, it would free up people’s minds to work on our future, as opposed to focusing on our current position.”
After some discussion, his Parent Company, Herschend Family Entertainment, instituted a program called “Grow You.” As part of this program, The Dollywood Company agreed to pay tuition for employees choosing to go back to school for college degrees. There were no strings attached, aside from encouraging employees to “pay it forward.”
As president of the company, Naughton led by example, enrolling in the EMBA-SL program at the University of Tennessee. He said his wife, who holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, was one of his biggest encouragers, reminding him that there’s always more to learn.
Naughton said the connection to his East Tennessee community also played a significant role in his decision to select Haslam.
“The connection with Tennessee is really important,” Naughton said. “There was much to learn from the local community and business college, which has such good reviews.”
Dollywood: A Case Study
The applied learning component of the EMBA-SL program was key for Naughton, as he leveraged assignments and projects to further his objectives at The Dollywood Company. Even as a seasoned executive, Naughton learned new skills that he now applies at work.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from Haslam faculty,” Naughton said. “Professor Nancy Scott, for example, took us through a self-reflective portion of the program, which I loved and use to this day.”
Naughton also referenced Professor of Practice Mike Grojean’s strategic intent plan to “stick your flag in the sand” as a model he found useful in running Dollywood.
For his Organizational Action Project Naughton focused on telling the story of Dolly Parton herself. To ensure Dolly’s story can be told for generations to come, the organization is investing in a new museum experience, scheduled to open in 2024. Naughton added that this museum will be Dolly’s most immersive yet.
Managing an organization as complex as Dollywood means overseeing numerous moving parts, and Naughton enjoys the challenge. He continues to leverage his academic insights from the EMBA-SL program to work toward the company’s long-term goal of becoming the number one family destination in the United States.
EMBA Words of Wisdom
Signing off, the Dollywood president offered a word of advice for anyone thinking of applying to the EMBA-SL program.
“Don’t be afraid to be a lifelong learner,” Naughton shared. “The perspective that you can gain provides a lot of versatility to you as a leader.”
Staying true to the Volunteer Creed, Naughton continues to give back to UT, speaking to classes about the business experiences that shaped his career.