CEO Announces Management Buyout of THE RIDE, LLC.

By: Sep. 15, 2017
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Richard Humphrey, CEO/CCO of The Ride, LLC., has announced a management buyout of The Ride, LLC., the world's leading and critically acclaimed experiential sightseeing company that currently includes THE RIDE, THE TOUR and the recently launched THE DOWNTOWN EXPERIENCE with Virtual Reality.

Partners joining with Humphrey in the buyout include Jeffrey McCormick, managing partner at Saturn Partners, a growth stage investment firm; former board member Alan McKeon, CEO of Alexander Babbage, a strategy and analytics firm for destinations; and Dan Rogoski, currently the President/CRO of Experience the Ride, LLC.

The transaction sets the stage for an imminent capital raise that will support continued growth in New York City and expansion into other cities through strategic partnerships, licensing and additional products/services.

As part of the transaction, Alan McKeon has joined the company as its COO and will bring his expertise in experiential destinations throughout the United States and globally to drive the Company's planned growth strategy.

Mr. Rogoski stated: "As THE RIDE and our portfolio of experiences continues to change the landscape in NYC, we have our focus on expanding globally as well. This is an exciting opportunity for us across the tour and travel industry as more and more Receptive Operators, Tour Operators, Student Groups and Partners continue to look for something different, outside the ordinary, to offer their customers while on holiday. We appreciate the support over the last few years in NYC. THE RIDE looks forward to continuing to develop these relationships within the tour and travel community so we can seamlessly integrate into cities around the world as we rapidly expand over the next few years."

Mr. Humphrey added: "Continuing the expansion of THE RIDE'S pioneering experiential leadership into the world of entertainment and sightseeing with a team of this caliber is exhilarating. We will focus on utilizing our constantly evolving experiential delivery platform, including VR production and triggering as well as the future of AR, to build a new fleet of our globally patented traveling theaters that make the streets of the world the stage."

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

THE RIDE

Just awarded the RTO Summit's COOLEST NEW PRODUCT Award and its FIFTH TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award, THE RIDE has also been inducted into THE TripAdvisor HALL of FAME; an accolade reserved for less than 1% of the worldwide Travel-Related Corporations reviewed by TripAdvisor's 60 million members and 140 million visitors. Also honored with a nomination for Broadway's coveted Drama Desk Award in the prestigious Unique Theatrical Experience Category and named the Third Most Successful Youth-Primed Attraction in New York City by FODOR'S Travel, THE RIDE has most recently been nominated for THE CONCIERGE CHOICE Award in the BEST TOURIST ATTRACTION category. THE RIDE has also been declared one of the Top 8 Must-Attend Wild & Wonderful Spectacles in New York City by NewYork.com who also named THE RIDE'S Gold Star Tour Guide, Rory Lipede, as the Most Entertaining Tour Guide in New York. The New York City phenomenon began 2016 by winning The Culture Trip's Favorite Award as the Must-Take NYC Tour and being named "the most exciting entertainment experience to ever hit New York City" by VIATOR. All of this homage and accompanying critical acclaim has led to THE RIDE becoming the singularly most requested ticket at Travel Agents' offices all over the country. The concept is a brainstorm of design that has resulted in a fleet of multi-million dollar motor coaches whose interiors are a state-of-the-art wonderland of electronic wizardry that guide 49 dazzled tourists around the most fascinating city in the world. THE RIDE'S original genius was its realization that the streets of Manhattan are a fifty-mile stage exhibiting the most riveting visuals on earth. Adding its own actors to the crowded mix on the street plus multi-media with original music and videos, the huge patented motor coaches deliver a show worthy of the standing ovations and group euphoria that results at the end of each RIDE.

THE TOUR
Powered by The Ride

On March 23, 2015 the producers of THE RIDE launched THE TOUR, "The New Generation of Sightseeing." THE TOUR hosts you with an informed, personable, licensed Navigator who has all the facts you want and more. THE TOUR's original and deeply researched script is enriched with audio/visual support that frames the City and its glorious history in context and brings moments along the way to magical life utilizing THE RIDE's patented technology. Discover the past, present and future of NYC through immersive multimedia sightseeing!

DOWNTOWN EXPERIENCE
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THE DOWNTOWN EXPERIENCE Powered by THE RIDE begins at 200 Water Street overlooking The New York Harbor and explores the historic blocks of the Seaport and lower Manhattan - the very blocks where rough and tumble New York roared to life, struggled to be born into freedom and through freedom's challenges evolved throughout the last two hundred years. THE DOWNTOWN EXPERIENCE is a multi-media historical adventure with a Storyteller's on-board narration highlighted with the magic of VIRTUAL REALITY visualizations and including on-location time-travel back to the inauguration of George Washington in 1789 and Wall Street's Black Tuesday, 1929 and more!



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