Phil Hettema

Philip D. Hettema (born 1955) is an American businessman and the Chief Executive Officer at THG Creative. Prior to starting his own company, The Hettema Group in 2002, Hettema worked as the senior vice president of Universal Creative and in managerial positions at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. He has also been credited as a production supervisor of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics, and has several patents to his name.

Early life Hettema was born in 1955 and grew up in Southern California. As a child, his family would make an annual trip to Disneyland, which he has described as the "highlight of his life".

Career By the age of 18, Hettema was studying music at California State University, Long Beach, with weekend employment in the wardrobe department at Disneyland. He was relocated to the character department to work on parade design and costume development after some time. Hettema quit his music degree as he was promoted to managerial positions. In these roles he oversaw the development of the Main Street Electrical Parade in Florida. Hettema quit Disney and returned to California to study illustration at Art Center College of Design. Before he could finish the degree he was offered a job, puppeteering for Sid and Marty Krofft. He joined as a line producer for an upcoming show at Universal Studios Hollywood; however, on his first day he was told the existing script was discarded and he would be required to start fresh. During the development of a show themed to the Rambo film series, Hettema was informed the show's theme would be changed to Miami Vice. This left Hettema and his team less than four and a half months to develop the Miami Vice Action Spectacular, prior to opening on July 4, 1987.

Not long after the opening, planning began for a second theme park at the Florida site. Hettema worked on the initial concepts of Cartoon World, a park to feature DC Comics, Dr. Seuss and Warner Bros.-themed attractions. Islands of Adventure was subsequently developed featuring the intellectual properties of Dr. Seuss, Jurassic Park, Marvel Comics, Jay Ward Productions and Paramount Pictures. While Hettema oversaw much of the park's design, he is credited with helping to invent the ride systems for The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and The Cat in the Hat.

As the development of Islands of Adventure was wrapping up, Universal Creative employees began developing concepts for Universal Studios Japan and the Men in Black: Alien Attack attraction for Universal Studios Florida. Hettema headed up both projects. A patent relevant to the attraction's technology cites Hettema as an inventor. He was also part of the team that made the first pitch to Warner Bros. for the rights to Harry Potter in amusement parks. As part of their proposal, a stage show was devised consisting of live actors and a variety of special effects. In other Universal Creative planning meetings, Hettema voted against the company obtaining the theme park rights for The Lord of the Rings. Phil Hettema and Associates ultimately became The Hettema Group. The Hettema Group has also worked for Universal Creative, reimagining the original Jurassic Park ride for Universal Studios Singapore where Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure was subsequently opened.

In 2022, The Hettema Group merged with Pasadena-based themed entertainment design firm, Themespace to form THG Creative. Phil Hettema continues to serve as Chief Executive Officer at THG.

Selected projects

With Universal Creative Attraction Original location Year opened Miami Vice Action Spectacular Universal Studios Hollywood 1987 Back to the Future: The Ride Universal Studios Florida 1991 Backdraft Universal Studios Hollywood 1992 Jurassic Park: The Ride Universal Studios Hollywood 1996 T2 3-D: Battle Across Time Universal Studios Florida 1996 Cartoon World Islands of Adventure 1999 The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man Islands of Adventure 1999 The Cat in the Hat Islands of Adventure 1999 Men in Black: Alien Attack Universal Studios Florida 2000 Universal Studios Japan 2001

With The Hettema Group Attraction Location America I Am: The African American Imprint United States Beyond All Boundaries New Orleans, United States Dragons Wild Shooting Lotte World, South Korea Everland Sky Cruise Everland, South Korea Explore: Blue Planet Red Planet Museum of Science and Industry, Illinois, United States ExplorOcean Newport Beach, California, United States Hello Kitty Park Anji County, China High Roller Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Intercontinental Hotel Aqaba, Jordan Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure Universal Studios Singapore, Singapore Malaysia Truly Asia Center Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Matching Movie Town Thailand Motion Picture Theme Park Middle East One World Observatory New York City, New York, United States Project Crescent Middle East Russian Jewish Museum Moscow, Russia Saraya Aqaba Aqaba, Jordan Themed Destination Resort Middle East TreePeople Center for Community Forestry Los Angeles, California, United States USA Pavilion Expo 2012, Yeosu, South Korea