Live With Sondra In Studio

Legacy Stories of Multi-Generational Attractions Businesses

Ft. Hannah de Bie and Keenan Mayfield, VP Marketing &
Communications and VP of Operations at Sub Sea Systems

Overview

The conversation between Hannah, Keenan, and Sondra is a blueprint for growing a multi-decade, family-led company without sacrificing either performance or relationships.

This isn’t a side business that simply endured. It’s Sub Sea Systems, a strategic, innovation-focused, 30+ year legacy company built on:

• A clear purpose (making the underwater world accessible)
• A resilient family culture
• A disciplined approach to succession, people, and risk

For CEOs and executives—family business or not—this dialogue reveals patterns worth copying.

1. Clarity of Purpose

Sub Sea Systems began in 1985 with submarines and semi-submersibles. The products evolved, but the mission stayed fixed:

“All of our product line is intended to take people underwater and just make that underwater world accessible.”

Today that includes semi-submersibles, Snuba, Sea Trek helmet diving, Solar Cat boats, Aquaticar, and VR snorkeling.

Executive takeaway:
You can change what you sell without losing who you are—if everything ties back to one powerful purpose. That narrative makes innovation coherent instead of random.

2. The Reality of a Healthy Family Business

From the outside, “family business” looks cozy. Inside, it’s higher stakes. As one mentor told Sondra:

“When the business isn’t okay, the family’s not okay—and vice versa.”

Hannah and Keenan are explicit about:

• Legacy over exit – Building for generation three, not a sale
• Values as operating system – Family-first, long-term thinking, mutual growth
• Structure and boundaries – A formal succession plan, clear rules on spouses in the business, and a shared definition of family time vs. business time

Executive takeaway:
The more your lives and work overlap, the more you need structure on paper—succession, roles, ownership, and decision rights.

3. Growing the Next Generation—Without Entitlement

Hannah and Keenan both grew up in the business but entered differently:

• Hannah studied international business and Spanish to serve company needs and joined right after college.
• Keenan followed a more meandering, rugby-first path and returned later with hard-won perspective.

Their parents:

• Didn’t force entry into the company
• Encouraged outside experience
• Allowed them to fail, explore, and come back ready

Now, generation three is being exposed through trade shows, site visits, and product testing, where kids’ input is treated as meaningful, not symbolic.

Executive takeaway:
Succession isn’t a single hand-off moment; it’s an ongoing exposure strategy. Real responsibility and real experiences beat classroom theory.

4. People, Failure, and Real-World Leadership

They also show how to:

• Treat employees as extended family while investing in upskilling and retention
• Create safety for hard feedback—even about family members
• Talk openly about failure, like Clear Lounge, an underwater oxygen bar that flopped due to location but later yielded learning, modular design insights, and even Stranger Things exposure via its clear helmet design

Beneath it all is a leadership stance built on resilience, perspective, and presence—zooming out during setbacks, choosing discomfort as a growth lever, and being intentionally present for family despite heavy demands.

Executive takeaway:
At senior levels, your real levers are how you frame setbacks, how you develop people, and how you protect key relationships while still pushing for growth.

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This episode isn’t just for your marketing team. If you’re responsible for P&L, send us your park’s top goal for the next 12 months—attendance, per-cap spend, or guest satisfaction. We’ll sit down for a no-fluff strategy session to strategize how Gatemaster can help you achieve those goals.