ORLANDO, Fla. — SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. has elected a new chairman of its board of directors, the company announced Friday.

• SeaWorld names new board chairman: Scott Ross
• Ross was previously director of CEC Entertainment, Chuck E Cheese's parent company
• Ross replaces Yoshikazu Maruyama, who is stepping down 

Scott Ross, who previously served as director of Chuck E. Cheese's parent company, CEC Entertainment Inc., was unanimously elected as the new chair.

Ross replaces Yoshikazu Maruyama, who has stepped down from his role of chairman "due to outside professional obligations," SeaWorld said in a news release. Maruyama will remain a SeaWorld director.

"We greatly appreciate Yoshi's insightful leadership as Chairman and look forward to continuing to work with him and benefiting from his contributions as a director going forward," Ross said in a statement.

In Friday's announcement, SeaWorld revealed it had added Charles Koppelman to its board, bringing the total number of members to eight.

Koppelman is chairman and CEO of CAK Entertainment Inc., an entertainment consultant firm he founded in 1997.