Business & Tech

Maritime Aquarium President To Step Down

Maritime Aquarium has announced its current President and CEO will soon step down.

NORWALK, CT – Brian Davis will step down as President and CEO of the Maritime Aquarium on May 25 to rejoin his family in Atlanta. Davis came to Norwalk in December 2014 as the seventh president of the Maritime Aquarium, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this summer.

In the time that Davis has been at the helm, the aquarium has opened several new exhibits including the Dragons exhibit, the Coral Reef Exhibit, the Jellies Cultivation Lab, the new Journey with Jellies exhibit and the “Catch and Release” interactive digital wall experience, according to a release.

The aquarium has also seen the addition of a Research and Conservation Scientist and continual growth in membership and attendance. Davis came to the Maritime Aquarium from the Georgia Aquarium, which he joined in 2003 as an executive staff member before the Atlanta facility had even opened.

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There, he was integral in the aquarium's design and the development of its guest experience at what was then the world's largest aquarium. His final title there was vice president of education and training.

Davis’s ties to Atlanta remain strong – primarily because his wife, Andrea Davis, has remained in Georgia for work. His three adult children and extended family reside there as well.

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After three years of commuting between Norwalk and Atlanta, Davis will be returning to rejoin his family in Atlanta. Last month with the arrival of his first grandchild, the need to return to be closer to his family grew even stronger.

“I don’t want to miss a minute of his growth and development," Davis said in a release. "Three years has been a long time to be apart from my family, I am looking forward to spending some quality time with them.”

Davis will depart having helped in negotiating an agreement with the City of Norwalk and State of Connecticut that will allow the Maritime Aquarium to respond to, and survive, the coming replacement of the Walk railroad bridge that is directly adjacent to the Aquarium. The agreement will go before Norwalk’s Common Council for final approval in the coming weeks.

“Brian arrived here and stepped right into the fire of the Walk Bridge,” Chairman of the Aquarium’s Board of Trustees Michael Widland said in a release. “This is not something that the president of any private, non-profit aquarium expects to have on their plate. The replacement of that bridge could be fatal to the Maritime Aquarium, which is an important economic driver for Norwalk and for the state.”

Widland praised Davis for leading the Aquarium’s response, which involves a redesign to account for the loss of the IMAX Theater and for exhibit changes necessary to ensure the safety of guests and animals.

Rob Rohn, the board's former chair, said the exhibit changes are thoughtful, exciting and further the aquarium’s mission.

“Brian led the creative process for all that, while at the same time fighting for the ‘functional replacement’ funding to make it possible,” Rohn said in a release. “He did 10 years of work in three, and we are incredibly impressed and appreciative.”

“It was important to see the Walk Bridge negotiations through,” Davis said in a release. “But now – as clichéd as it sounds – I want to reconnect and spend time with my family.”

Davis stressed confidence in the executive team in place at the Maritime Aquarium.

“The aquarium is in excellent hands. The senior leadership team is incredibly strong and the Board of Trustees continue to serve the aquarium in an amazing capacity. I am truly pleased with the direction of the aquarium. “

Widland and Rohn said the selection process for a new president is already underway. A special committee of aquarium trustees is leading the search process.

Learn more at www.maritimeaquarium.org.

Photo credit: Maritime Aquarium


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