When Travis Burke got a recruiting call in 2023 from his professional colleague and friend of 12 years, Dr. Brian Davis, who was then the acting CEO of the Georgia Aquarium, it wasn’t a total surprise.
“He always liked to joke that the job interview was about six years long,” Burke said about Davis. “It was something that we had talked about for years and years and years. It was a dream come true for me.”
Becoming Georgia Aquarium’s executive vice president in March 2023 was an opportunity for Burke to increase his impact and “leave a legacy,” he said. He admired the wide range of work the aquarium was involved in, from coral conservation to marine rescue and rehabilitation, global research and public education.
Burke moved his wife and daughter to Atlanta from Cancun, Mexico, where he had been working for 25 years. He had spent two years as a park manager for Wet ‘n Wild, an operator of aquatic parks, followed by almost 24 years with The Dolphin Company, which ran more than 30 parks and dolphin habitats around the world. He had also held leadership positions in zoological and conservation organizations.
As executive vice president at the aquarium, Burke worked alongside Davis for a year and a half, pushing forward the aquarium’s strategic plan, increasing aquarium attendance and running operations. In August 2024, he received the tragic news that his friend and mentor had died.
“It’s still hard today to think about it (Davis' death),” Burke said. “He was just the most genuine, hardworking, charismatic human being.”
In the wake of Davis’ death, Burke was voted in by the board as the aquarium’s interim CEO. The first month was hard.
“I think the first month was almost like being the chief empathy officer, just making sure that the teams were OK,” he said. “There was a dichotomy of focusing on the business, making sure that everything is taken care of … but also having a focus on the teams.”
Over the course of six months as interim CEO, Burke stepped up and impressed the aquarium board. This week, Georgia Aquarium announced Burke has been hired as official CEO.
“Travis has demonstrated extraordinary dedication and capability as interim CEO,” Steve Koonin, chairperson of the aquarium’s board , said in a press release. “His extensive expertise and passion for marine life and education make him the ideal leader to guide Georgia Aquarium into its next chapter.”
Burke’s goals include growing the aquarium’s programs and accelerating its efforts to become less reliant on the ocean to source marine life.
“We don’t want to always be taking fish from the sea. We want to be able to produce our own animals,” he said.
For Burke, who said he has been in love with the ocean since he was a young boy snorkeling and scuba diving with his father and watching Jacques Cousteau’s underwater shows, his role is “more than job.”
“It’s a passion,” he said. “We can do so many great things to help people, to educate the public, to help these wild species and make a difference so that they’re around for our grandchildren. That’s the legacy. That’s the reason I came to Georgia Aquarium. … The impact is global.”
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