May 29, 2025 • 36 mins
Tom Schmid,is the President and CEO of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, including The Wilds, Safari Golf Club, and Zoombezi Bay. Formerly CEO of the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, Schmid brings over 34 years of experience in modern zoological attractions, working in every aspect of operations, both internally and externally, and in institutions accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).From 2012-2013, he served as chair of the board of directors for AZA after serving on the board. In addition, he is on the executive committee of the Coastal America Learning Center Network and a board member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA.)Schmid grew up in South Florida and received his Bachelor of Science in biology from Stetson University and his Master of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of Central Florida.He began his career at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Before arriving at Texas State Aquarium,
Schmid served as the Director of Operations for NAUTICUS-the National Maritime Center, located in Norfolk, Virginia. He was hired as the Director of Animal Husbandry of Animal at Texas State Aquarium, promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 1998, and then became President and CEO in 1999.Tom and his wife, Kim, have two children: Max and Alexandra.
Schmid served as the Director of Operations for NAUTICUS-the National Maritime Center, located in Norfolk, Virginia. He was hired as the Director of Animal Husbandry of Animal at Texas State Aquarium, promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 1998, and then became President and CEO in 1999.Tom and his wife, Kim, have two children: Max and Alexandra.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Columbus in Central Ohio have a rich history of companies
being headquartered here, everything from technology, manufacturing, retail, insurance, and more.
But what about the leaders behind these companies? What makes
them tick? How did they get their start? This is
where you get to meet the captain of the ship.
Welcome to CEOs You Should Know and iHeartMedia Columbus Podcast.
Welcome back to another episode of CEOs You Should Know
(00:22):
and iHeartMedia Columbus Podcast. I'm your host boxer this week's guest.
I got to tell you it's he's a busy man.
So it's not necessarily it's not easy getting them in person,
but when you can, you take advantage of that. And
we want to welcome Tom Schmid, who's the president and
CEO of the Columbus Doing Aquarium along with the Wilds.
(00:44):
Tom of my forgetting, I mean, there's you have so
many assets.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Well, we have that zoomba yep, yep, Barry Golf and
actually kind of a new entity, the Columbus Center for
Wildlife Conservation. So that's our that's our new conservation entity.
Oh wow, is that at the zoo?
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Where's that at?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
So right now it's a virtual corporation, but ultimately it'll
have a physical presence at the zoo.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Oh that's fantastic. Well, look again, thank you for joining
us on this podcast. In this episode, when you run
into someone that has never been to the Columbus Zoo,
how does the president and CEO describe the Columbus Zoo.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Well, it's actually extraordinarily unique, and you sort of highlighted that.
First off, we're one of the largest zoos in the country.
But the fact that we have this remarkable ten thousand
acre wildlife conservation center called the Wilds that is, you know,
an hour hour and a half away, in addition to
other entities that generate revenue for us, like the golf
(01:42):
Carson water Park. I mean, we're essentially maybe you could
think about us as a not for profit, conservation focused
theme park and so I think those assets really allow
us to do some pretty amazing things in terms of
visitors day, economic impact in the community, our conservation work
probably more than most other major zoos in the country.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah. I've always wondered this too, Tom, with your background,
and we're gonna dive more into it. It's it's it's
more with with anything you'd see at the zoo, more
biology right. Yeah, So when does a guy like you
cringe when you hear amusement park.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Well, I wouldn't probably use the word amusement park. I
think that's a little bit antiquated. Although we have like
fifteen amusement park rides. We have one of the oldest
roller coasters in the in the in the in the
in the state of Ohio. So I think I think
you just have to put it in context. I mean,
if you have an amusement park that's generating revenue to
support wildlife conservation, that's saving animals for extinction. What a
(02:41):
great concept, and that's exactly what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah. Well, look, let's talk about your journey and how
you got to Columbus. Were you born raised?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Sure? So, I was born in Miami, Florida, and raised
in Naples and spent a lot of time so we
had a house on the Clusa Hutchie River and and
and and on the Gordon River in the Gordon Pass
area in Naples. So a lot of time in the water,
on the water, under the water. And I think that's
probably why I became a marine biologist, which is when
I studied in college and graduate school, and in graduate
(03:13):
school in particular, I was really interested in sharks, and
so I was finishing up and I got a call
one day from SeaWorld and they wanted to see if
I would be willing to help them manage their shark collection,
and I did that for a couple of years. Was
going on. It was going to plan on getting my
PhD and taking sort of an academic route, but I
really enjoyed my time at SeaWorld.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Was that the SeaWorld, Sorry, was that the SeaWorld in Orlando?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
In Orlando? Okay, yeah, and it was It was my
first introduction to sort of informal education, a marine theme park,
exhibit design, all these kinds of things that that kind
of I've utilized for my entire career. So I ended
up spending about six years there and then took a
job helping start up a new organization in Norfolk, Virginia
(03:57):
called the National Maritime Center Nautica. So that was kind
of a hybrid of an aquarium, science center, naval history museum,
and maritime museum. And that was a lot of fun
that really got my interest going in design, construction, development
of new programming, and I ended up becoming the director
of operations there. But I sort of felt that marine
(04:20):
biology pull, and so when I got recruited to join
the team at the Texas State Aquarium, it really that
sounded like a great opportunity, and so I ended up
taking that position, and over the course of about twenty years,
we raised nearly one hundred million dollars and we really
that was one of the smallest aquariums in the country.
Now it's the seventh largest in North America. So we
(04:42):
were able to do a lot of great work there.
But then, yeah, then I heard about some things that
were happening at the Columba Zoo in the spring of
twenty twenty one, and a couple of months later got
a call from a recruiter and lo and behold, and
four years later, here I.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Am now Tom, knowing that, and we'll dive more into
a lot of different things here with your attourney. But
because you had brought that up, you know, with regards
to the Columbus Zoo, that the headhunter contacts you when
you found out some of the things that were going
on at the time, were you hesitted at all to
(05:15):
dip your toes in the water here?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
You know? Not really? I mean, I obviously had heard
what happened. But I also knew that or I had
a strong idea that the institution was fundamentally sound, and
I knew about the wilds and all these other assets.
I knew it was an extraordinarily large and well developed
zoo and and had the history of Jack Hannah behind
(05:38):
it for nearly forty years. So despite some leadership failures,
the fundamental foundation was still strong, and I knew there
was going to be some amazing opportunity in the future.
And so no, I really, I really didn't have any hesitation.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Where you grew up in Florida, Naples, and of course
you know your background with sharks. What's the biggest misconception
most of us, whether it's media, humans have about sharks, Well,
what could you tell us?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Well, you know, the biggest misconception is that they're a
danger to humans. I mean there are there are a
tiny percentage a tiny number of shark attacks each year
and even fewer fertilities. Millions of sharks are actually killed
by people each year as part of a fishery, and
in many cases an unmanaged fishery. So my, yeah, I
(06:27):
think the sharks have much much more to fear from
us than we do. Of them.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Okay, yeah, so jaws not so real.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
So well, you know, it's interesting because we we used
to do some work with a group called O SERTs
that actually go out and they tag white sharks. Wow,
they track white sharks and and and you know, white
sharks tend to follow migratory fish and schooling fish and
oftentimes you know they will be near shore. And so
there's been some really sort of interesting and somewhat concerning
(06:59):
period where white sharks have been noticed close to shore.
And because they have this technology to be able to
track them. Now, so I think it's we have to
be mindful. I mean, they certainly have the capacity to
kill someone, but sure we're not their primary diet. I
mean they do like seal sea lions things like that.
But yeah, again, you think about the millions of people
that go to the beach every single day and the
(07:21):
number of sharks that are out there's pretty remarkable. But
there aren't more attacks.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And Tom, since this is your wheelhouse, I hope you
don't mind. It appears that a lot of this, whether
it's a shark attack and I know, things happen, but
a lot of it is just common sense.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
I'm assuming with humans absolutely. Yeah, the people that tend
to get into trouble with sharks surfers because they spend
a lot of time in the water and they tend
to be a little bit further out. Sure, And there's
even a theory that if you're a surfer in a
wetsuit on a small surfboard, you know, if you were
a shark looking up, you look a little bit like
a turtle or a seal, And so there's some theory
(07:56):
that that actually could contribute to attacks. Surf fishermen sometimes
that are spear fishing probably in more danger. Swimming around
dusk or dawn, and then swimming when schooling fish are
coming through. I mean, all those are typically where you
see interactions between humans and sharks.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
All right, one last question about sharks, just because I'm curious.
If you find yourself in danger with a shark, maybe
being attacked, I've seen all these things on YouTube and
social media about what you should do, what should you do?
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Well, I mean, if you're to that point, there's probably
not a whole lot you're going to be able to do,
certainly if it's a tiger shark or a white shark
or shark. Yeah, you know, striking the animal in the eye,
striking the animal, and the gills, striking the animal and
the snout. Sharks have a tremendous number of sensory organs, tissue,
and organelles in the snout that they have a remarkable
(08:47):
sense of smell electro reception, so they're kind of sensitive
to that area. So yeah, I would just pummel the
heck out of the front of that shark and then
try to get away.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yeah, because you're a Fluoridian originally, I have to say you.
I've I've as a as a guy who grew up
in Minnesota, complete opposite of Florida. I've always been fond
of the Everglades and I was just curious, did you
have a lot of run ins with alligators? And what
can you tell us about aligators?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
The Everglades are fascinating. I've never I've seen a lot
of alligators, never never had a run in with them,
if you will. But yeah, it's a it's a remarkable ecosystem,
just almost unlike anything else in the world.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
It's just yeah, it's it's for me, It's it's just
one of the wonders. I grew up just doing book
reports on the Everglades, And I feel like there's still
a lot of mystery too with the Everglades, do you think, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
It's a it's a very difficult area to study in
many respects. It's it's inhospitable. I mean you have, you know,
swamp mosquitoes, a lot of different animals that can that
can do damage and even kill you. And now we've
got unfortunately, pythons, lots of pythons in the Everglades that
that that are an introduced exotic species wreaking havoc on
(10:00):
the ecosystem. So yeah, pretty formidable space.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Right Tom to that point, might as well ask you
this too, And what you're referring to is people having
these pythons as pets not from that area originally. Is that,
especially with Florida, are you seeing that's becoming more of
a problem, these invasive species coming into a territory that
normally they wouldn't be in.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Yeah, so that Florida, unfortunately, and the Gulf of Mexico
has become the epicenter of that. And one of the
most striking examples are lionfish. So lionfish are these beautiful
fish that have these venomous spines. They're typically you see
them in the aquarium trade. I mean, just extraordinary. Somehow,
about twenty five years ago, a few lionfish were spotted
(10:45):
off the coast of South Carolina and they began to
migrate south, and we just actually we had a program
where we tracked this over time. There are now millions
of lionfish in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico,
out competing the other marine fish. It you know, you
think about the python story in the Everglades and then
you just exponentially. I mean, this is probably one hundred
(11:07):
times worse. There are linefish everywhere in the Gulf of Mexico,
and there's there's no known predators. Were hopeful that at
some point sharks will learn how to eat them. Okay,
but yeah, that's that's another example of of I mean,
just some some very innocent things that happened, you know,
when when those and no one really knows how they
were first introduced into the into the into the western
(11:30):
North Atlantic. But but the proliferation, I mean, if you
look at it over time on a computer monitor, almost
looks like a virus. Just yeah, it's remarkable.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Wow, it sounds to me Tom like Pandora's box has
been opened. Is besides precaution down the road, is there
anything humans can do to battle that? Now?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well, certainly we have to. I mean, first and foremost,
we have to follow all wildlife laws because there are
very strict laws about who can own wildlife. You know,
who can't. You know what wildlife you're able to keep,
how you can transport it, So, you know, first and foremost,
making sure that everyone follows those laws. And then just
being mindful of the environment. Don't ever release a pet
(12:07):
or or or an animal that you have, even if
it outgrows your aquarium. I mean, find a source, talk
to the person you talk to an aquarium, go to
a public aquarium, don't ever release anything into the wild
unless I mean, that's just first and foremost.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Yeah, Tom, knowing your background and knowing how responsible you are,
does something like that with humans? Does that drive you bananas?
That behavior?
Speaker 2 (12:32):
It's you know, it's unfortunate, and we really, along with
a lot of other zoos in our National Association, we
actually have programs that we've developed to try to combat this.
And you know, the whole notion of a legal wildlife
trade that is a huge issue nationally. And globally, and
it's something that a lot of zoos are focused on
and that we're focused on. And yeah, and again I
(12:53):
think that it really boils down to respect for wildlife,
respect for these animals.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Tom Schmid is the president and CEO of the Columbus
Zoo and Aquarium. He's this week's guest on CEOs You
Should Know and iHeartMedia Columbus podcasts. Tom, we'll get back
to your journey landing in Columbus. So, first impressions of
Columbus maybe maybe it was flying into the job interview first,
what did you think?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yeah, so it had been about twenty years since I'd
been here, okay, and the first thing that struck me
was how green and how and how modern looking and
and and how clean the region was. I mean, you
sort of have I hate to say this, but sometimes
you have this this view of a of a gritty
Midwestern city, and Columbus was nothing like that. I mean,
(13:40):
we you know, one of the first things that we
learned about were the metro parks here, which which my
wife and I really enjoy and and just remarkable metro parks.
And then you know, driving through the city seeing all
you know, the Innovation Campus at os you seeing some
of the things that are happening downtown along the Siota River,
and then certainly in Delaware County weare a Dublin region.
(14:01):
It was just I was really pleasantly surprised with how
beautiful the area was. And then as we started to
get to know people, how friendly people are here. I mean,
you always hear about Midwest nice and you think, you know,
is it real? It absolutely is real. I mean living
you know, having lived in Florida, Texas, the East Coast,
it's a different vibe here, and people are genuine, they
(14:23):
want to help, they want to tell you their story.
You have to allow a little bit more time in
your day for that listening. But it's remarkable, and you know,
people there's a there's a there's a great ethos to
the Midwest that that we are really embracing.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yeah, a big chunk of your budget is funded by
the levy. Of course, when it comes to the support
that Franklin County specifically gives. Were you surprised when you
arrived to see just how passionate people were about their zoo?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
You know that that's really interesting. So it makes up
about yeah, about twenty percent of our operating budget. And
you know, I've been in this field for a long time,
and I've inspected zoos through our accreditation program. I've probably
visited one hundred zoos in my life. And and you
go to most areas and and you know cities, cities
love their zoos and aquariums. But when I got to Columbus,
(15:17):
I mean it's different. People here really really love the
Columbus Zoo and they have pride in the Columbus Zoo.
And again I have to I give Jack Hanna a
lot of credit for that. I give our our team
members a lot of credit for that. It's pretty remarkable
to see that the pride that we have. Our annual
attendance is about two million people a year. Columbus is
(15:39):
the fourteenth largest city in the country. You typically see
two million in attendance at La Zoo and Houston Zoo.
These are areas that have an MSA of six eight
ten million. So just have that many people, it's it's
a little proportionally out of whack. But I think again,
part of it is because of this this unbelievable fondness
that this community has for the Columbus Zoo and certainly
(16:03):
the strong support we've gotten from Franklin County voters. I mean,
I think they understand beyond the conservation work we do
in the economic impact, the educational impact, one hundred thousand
kids coming to the zoo every year, and just you know,
even talking to one of your one of the team
members here this morning, memories at the zoo, bringing their
kids there, going to wild light, seeing the end. Absolutely,
it becomes part of the family tradition, had.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
No doubt about it. And along with your camps and
just everything you do that encompasses the entire family. When
you when you think family, you think you know Columbus
Zoo and obviously vice versa. So when how long did
it take you to say yes to the zoo when
they offered you the job.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Oh, let's see, So it was probably about a three
month process. Okay, you know, three to four month process.
And uh, you know, I think really the more I learned,
the more intrigued I became. You know, I made a
couple of visits up here, really had a chance to
go to the wilds and I had been the Columbusoo before.
I'd never been to the wilds before. Yeah, and I
(17:03):
think that really was certainly a key decision point for me,
just realizing that we've got this remarkable asset and that
we have norm I mean, we've got great opportunities for
things at the Zoo. We have six hundred acres on
our main campus, so we're I would say, the envy
of most other large urban zoos because we have so
much land that we can still develop on our main campus.
(17:25):
But if you think about the opportunities at the Wilds,
we've probably developed maybe a thousand acres out of that
ten thousand.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Wow, that's incredible. So after you said, yes, you knew
about some of the the heartaches that were the heartaches
that were going on at the Zoo, were you prepared
for that? I know you knew about it beforehand, but
with the misuse of funds from former execs.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Yeah, I think yeah, I certainly was prepared for what
we needed to do from a financial standpoint, from a
board government standpoint. I think what was what really sort
of took me back a little bit was and I
should have realized this, but but the the trauma that
was that that that the staff went through. So if
you think about this was literally one year after the
(18:12):
global pandemic. So these are team members who, you know,
like a lot of organizations, the zoo had to to
cut staff during during the COVID pandemic. So thinking about
these team members that that saw their coworkers being laid
off and then they learn about this grift, this extraordinary
grift that happened among the senior leadership, the trauma that
(18:34):
that impacted, the impact that it had to to uh
to to employ engagement, you know, the loss of accreditation.
So many of our animal care staff would probably never
work for a zoo that wasn't accredited, and all of
a sudden they found themselves at a zoo that wasn't accredited.
So all these kind of unintended consequences of this grift
and and the and the crimes that these guys committed.
(18:57):
I think I didn't fully appreciate that until I got
here and actually started. One of the first things I did.
We have about thirty four different teams departments at the zoo,
and I met with each department and just hearing them
and and and and understanding the depth of that trauma
that that was that was that was that that was
something that really impacted me.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, Tom, was there a moment that you had the
chance to round the troops up and have a meeting
with everyone, and if so, what did you tell them?
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Well, so we we did. We started instituting all staff
meetings and we would have these, you know, several times
a year. And and the one thing that I committed
to them was transparency. You know that that you know,
there were so many things that were part of our
finance program that were kind of a black box. Information
would go in, but it never went out. And so
this notion that we're gonna we're gonna be transparent, We're
(19:46):
going to communicate with all of you, and and the
our new team members that we hired, our new executives
that we hired, are one hundred percent on board with this.
That we're gonna that we're gonna listen you guys will
have a voice now and that and that there are
brighter days ahead.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Yeah. Tom, One of the things I hear about you
from some of your your teammates is how bold you are,
how you know big ideas that you have, which I
love that about you, and I've seen it in action.
I've seen you want to try new things. Do you
Are you ever hesitant just because you know you said
(20:23):
you get twenty percent of the budget is funded by
the public. Do you do you have to keep that
in mind when you go after something.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Well, I think that's that's a great question. And I
think we are we we are trying new things, we
are trying bold ideas, we're being more innovative, but we're
we're doing it responsibly and and and we're doing it
with data, and we're doing it with research and and
and I'm fully you know, I fully admit to my
team not everything we try is going to work. For example,
(20:51):
we did a program last year called Unextinct. Yeah, yeah,
and unfortunately that just didn't perform to the level that
we wanted to do. Now, I loved it, it was
it was a really interesting program. I don't think it
was fully developed. We had huge weather challenges, and technology
wasn't quite fully baked on that, and it was hard
to market. It was a wonderful program, but it just
it just didn't perform to the level that we needed
(21:12):
it to perform. Now, no levy funds were used for that, No, no,
But I think that and I was really clear with
the staff. We tried it, it didn't mean our expectations.
So we're not doing it again now. The flip side,
we did a lantern festival in the fall. Yeah, hugely successful,
Easier to market, easier for folks to appreciate. It actually
looked really cool during the day as well as at night.
(21:34):
That was that was hugely successful, and we'll continue to
do that. We're going to be doing that again this fall.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
I guess that's just an example of where we're not
afraid to take risks, We're not afraid to try things.
But we put a lot of thought behind that.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Well time to be fair with Unextinct, I was there
opening night and you did have a tornado warning and
I believe a funnel claud rolled through that area.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yeah it was. It was an exciting launch, wasn't it.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
So yeah, yeah, it was for sure. So well, let's
get to a couple of things that we we know.
You have a new water slide that's coming for zoombc Pay.
You also have the much hyped, much talked about Reimagine
North America region. So go with either one first, tell
us about.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
It, sure, So we'll start with the with conservation Tower.
So this is an entirely new attraction at the water park. Apparently,
first of its kind. So I'm a little nervous about
whether or not I want to be the first person
to ride it, but it's it looks really cool, and
so I think it's gonna be for for water park enthusiasts.
They're gonna love it, so that that'll be a great
(22:36):
new addition to the water park.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Can I stop you something for a second? With knowing
you and your big bold ideas, where were you a
part of that? Like I I want a water slide
that no one else has.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
No, I have to I have to give our I did.
I did challenge the team to come up with a
new attraction, but no, I give Anthony Sabo. Okay, he's
our Yeah, he runs the Zoombz Bay water Park. He's
an enthusiast, and he really worked with a company called
pro Slide to bring this to us. So yeah, I
give that team one hundred percent credit for that. And
(23:07):
the North America Track. So North America Track, I think
was one of the first areas that Jack Hannah renovated
when he got here back in the late seventies, and
so back then it was remarkable, but as you can
imagine forty years later, you know, it was definitely a
time for something new, So we didn't renovate it, we
completely reimagined it. We completely rebuilt it. So new habitats
(23:27):
for our black bear, for our Mexican wolf, our bald eagle,
are our songbirds, river otters, so great new spaces for
our guests to be able to see the animals, Great
new spaces for the animals where they're living. Behind the
scene space is really good spaces for our staff where
they work so otters. I'm particularly excited about. We're going
(23:48):
to have a huge acrylic window. It's one thing to
see an otter splashing grind in a pool, but if
you can see that animal through a huge acrylic window,
you realize how incredibly muscular, how their swim ability, how
nimble they are. That's going to be a remarkable experience.
And the other thing that I'm pretty excited about within
that region, we had a building that we've repurposed now
(24:10):
as the Ohio Center for Wildlife Conservation, So we're going
to be able to showcase a lot of the work
that we do right here in central Ohio. So reintroducing Hellbenders,
the largest amphibian in North America, back into Ohio Rivers
repopulating burying beetles, plains, garter snakes, freshwater muscles. We have
an amazing freshwater muscle research facility on the Siota River,
(24:34):
partnering with OSU, right across from the zoo. Very few
people have any idea about the groundbreaking research that occurs there.
It's one of the most endangered animals aquatic animals in
the state, and so telling that story in a really
amazing way and actually having laboratories there to be able
to so the guests can see conservation and action, research
and action. So I'm particularly excited about that.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Tom Schmid is the president and CEO of the Columbus
Doing a Quarium. He's this week's guest on CEOs You
Should Know, and I heard media Columbus podcast. I always
found it fascinating to see just how many places around
the globe that you you have the Columbus doing aquarium
tentacles if you will. What are some of the programs
that people would be maybe in awe about that you
(25:19):
guys are are currently involved in.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Yeah, so we we've done We've done a lot of
work in Rwanda helping save gorillas from extinction, mountain gorillas,
and and that's probably been a twenty plus year commitment
our partners and conservation program. And what's a little bit
unique about that is we realize that we can't just
focus on the mountain grills. We have to focus on
the communities, and so we helped create the embalm We
(25:44):
Center there, which actually is a school, it's a health facility,
it's a facility where pregnant moms can get assistance. There's
a bakery there, a music studio now, a garden, and
we actually had a chance to visit that in Rwanda
several years ago and seeing you know, the clumb Bazoo logo,
seeing logos of other partners like Nancy Kramer for example,
and other folks in this community that have supported that project,
(26:07):
and certainly Jack Hannah and his wife Susie their photo,
their name there. It was pretty remarkable how that brand
now extends to all parts of the globe. So that's
been a really impactful project. One that we just launched
that I'm really excited about is our new Center for
Specie Survival for Asian elephants. Asian elephants, so there's a
number of zoos that have created these these center for
(26:28):
Specie Survival, but we're the first two that's ever done
one in country in India, and so we're committing a
million dollars to create this center, working with the Wildlife
Trust of India to really help save Asian elephants from extinction.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
That's incredible. Tom, off the top of your head, is
there a specie that is in very very close danger
of being extinct anywhere on the globe right now? What
would that specie be?
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Well, there's a lot. I mean, Asian elephants certainly starting
to fall in that in that category much more so
than Africa elephants, for example, freshwater muscles. As I mentioned,
you know right here in Ohio. One of the projects
that we've another new major initiative that we've launched is
the Manatee Conservation Alliance. So we're now partnering we've been
(27:15):
helping rescue manatee. Yeah, for about the last twenty years.
So an orphan, you know, amanate loses its mom or dad,
he gets orphaned, he can't fend for itself. That animal
comes to the Columbus Zoo or some of the other
zoo and aquarium partners that we have around the country,
spends a year or two there, grows up, builds up
its weight, and then we release it back into the environment.
(27:36):
But we realize, if we really want to save manatees
from extinction, we've got to do much more than just
rescue manatees in Florida. So we're we're building out an
alliance of facilities, governments, different research organizations around the entire
Caribbean to come together to save manatees from extinction. And
so that's a project that we just launched last year
that we're really excited about.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Wow, that's amazing, And I know your website actually has
all of these stories in the project you're currently working
on at Columbus Zoo dot org.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Tom with do you have it?
Speaker 1 (28:07):
And you have to forgive me because I feel like
when I'm about to ask you, it might be like
asking you to tell me who your favorite child is.
But is there a certain part of the zoo or
animal species there that you just truly enjoy, you love?
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Well, Yeah, that is a tough, tough question. So one
of my I think it was the first week I
was at the Columbus Zoo, I actually had a chance
to interact with our red pandas and they are just
remarkable animals and really really enjoy them. But I think
from a habitat perspective, you know what we're able to
do at our Heart of Africa exhibit. So this is
(28:44):
a thirty acre African savannah. We have zebra out there, Wildeby's, giraffe, gazelle's.
It is the closest approximation to an African savannah that
you probably see anywhere in North America. And for so
many folks who will probably never have the opportunity to
visit Africa, it is a remarkable experience and so that
I love that. That is one of my favorite areas
(29:04):
of the zoo.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Yeah, any chance you know we talked about the North
America Trek, among other things, Zoombizi Bay. Knowing you, I
would have to imagine and how business is there. There
are future plans down the road for something. Anything you
are allowed to talk about, you can say right now,
what's next?
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Sure? Sure? So we have a lot of plans and
and I can share some of that with you today.
So the North America region was so large that we
only were able to do probably two thirds rebuild two
thirds of that. So the second phase of that, looking
at the habitat that we have for our moose for
our for our mountain lions, reindeer that that's gonna that's
(29:47):
going to be the second phase. So really finishing out
the build out of that entire area I think is
going to be really important. We're also looking at doing
some major upgrades to our gorilla habitat, our indoor gorilla habitat,
and then really looking at kind of some interesting transportation
opportunities around the zoo. So looking at bringing a gondola in.
What if you think about how large the zoo is.
(30:08):
From from Congo all the way to Hoa, it's almost
a mile walk. Yeah, having a gondola that you could
just jump on, you could ride over the zoo, over
riverside drive all the way down there, I think will
be will be a great asset for us.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
That'd be amazing.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
We've talked about a hotel for a number of years.
I think we're getting more serious about that. You'll you'll
definitely continue to see improvements at the water park. I'm
actually really excited about some of the things that we're
doing at the Wilds and so one of the other
conservation programs that we've just launched is the Center for
North American Bison conservation. So we are now and for
the first time last year, we have a lot of
(30:44):
bison there, and we produce a lot of bison. You
put bison together, they make more bison. So we sent
sixty bison to South Dakota working with the indigenous populations
there to begin repopulating some prairies. And so that's that's
that's the focus of this new center. And then from
a guest perspective, what we want to do is we
want to we've not really the bison really haven't been
(31:07):
part of the tour at the Wilds in the past,
so we are going to make them part of the
tour in the future. So imagine getting in a truck
and going out into the prairie and being surrounded by
one hundred bison. I mean, this kind of Yellowstone Park experience.
We're going to be recreating that the Wilds in the
future so well.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
And I don't know if a lot of people realize that,
you know, between camping and being able to stay overnight,
would you say the Wilds, out of all of your assets,
might be one of the most immersive for a guest.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Yeah, there's no question, And you're right, because there's so
much to do out there. I mean, it's an adventure park,
conservation center, safari park. You really need to spend the night.
And so in addition to the yurts and cabins, in
about three weeks we're opening the Hellbender RV Park, so
we'll have a new RV park out there, so you
can bring your RV to the zoo, spend to the wild,
(31:55):
spend the weekend, enjoy the hiking trails, the mountain biking trails,
everything that we have to offer it the wilds. We
really want to be able to build that out to
be a multi day experience and I'm really excited about that.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
For those that are listening Tom while this is being recorded,
this is also the same week that the State Auditor
of Ohio held what it sounds like it's final press
conference with the mismanagement of money before your time. Obviously,
can I just ask you real quick, because there's not
much more to say, but is it like a weight
(32:28):
off your shoulders that this chapter's done? It?
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Really?
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Is?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
It? Really is? I mean, this has been a it's
been a four year slog and and and I think
with a final report, and I have to really thank
the State Auditor Faber and his team. I mean they
were they were. The report was thorough, there's no question,
but when we met with them, they were cooperative and collaborative.
I mean they they appreciate the value that the zoo
(32:51):
has and I think they were very complimentary of what's
happened since that period, since since this came to light,
And it started with with Keith Schume, who was our
board chair, who along with the board, took quick action,
you know, conducted a forensic audit, immediately held those leaders accountable.
They were gone, started developing new policies and procedures, looking
(33:13):
at board governance. Jerry Bourrn, the former director, stepped in
on a volunteer basis to help write the shift. So
I was really thankful that by the time I got here,
there had already been a pretty significant amount of work
that was done. Yeah, and so, and we've obviously continued
that with our new senior vice president of Finance, Angel
Mumas done a terrific job restoring trust in our finance division.
(33:35):
So a lot of work by a lot of team members.
But yeah, we feel like we're in such a stronger
place now, and it really if you look at literally
any measure that you would judge the performance of the
zoo were much stronger institution today than we were four
years ago.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
That's incredible. One of another great establishment here in Columbus
is obviously Cosai and bo You and Kosai, both assets
have been on USA Today's you know Best Best Science Museum.
I know doctor Bertley from Kosai has has had this
(34:12):
goal of having Kosai more global, and we really touched
on that with the Columbus Zoo already with the conservation programs.
You know, when when you're in a guy, when you're
in a position like you, Tom and you you know
that you have Franklin County, you know you have Central Ohio.
You've proven to them that hey, we're a zoo, We're great,
(34:32):
and you're beloved. Is there a goal to go regional, national,
global in that retrospect of attracting people to come here
just for the zoo?
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Well, and I think so, and I think we had
that opportunity. I am convinced that that Central Ohio can
become a leisure destination for the Midwest for the nation.
The assets that you that you, I mean you mentioned Kosai.
We've got Franklin Park Conservatory that the sports venues that
we have, or the natural beauty, the restaurants. I mean,
there's so many things that are I think, in extent
(35:03):
to some extent, still largely undiscovered. I mean you think
about you know, Nashville and some of these other cities.
We have so much to offer now, and so that's
part of our goal is to and really that helps
us in two ways. It certainly helps our economic impact.
But if we can bring many more people from the
region and from around the country into the zoo, that
will really allow us to scale our conservation efforts, which
(35:24):
is our ultimate goal.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Yeah. Absolutely, well, Tom, Look, I can't thank you enough
for your time. I want to apologize for my dog,
Dixie biting and untying your shoelaces. Dixie. No, you'll probably
never come back again.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
I wear different shoes. That's what I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
You'll never forget this one, Uh, Tom, this has been
what look first of all, Yes, as someone who's been
here for off and on for twenty six years, I
appreciate someone like you who has really taking the bowl
by the horns. And it sounds like you're really you
(36:06):
and your wife are really loving Central Ohio and we're
glad you're here, well.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
We're happy to be here, and thanks so much Boxer
for helping us tell the story.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
CEOs You Should Know is hosted and produced by Brandon Boxer,
a production of iHeartMedia, Columbus
Columbus in Central Ohio have a rich history of companies
being headquartered here, everything from technology, manufacturing, retail, insurance, and more.
But what about the leaders behind these companies? What makes
them tick? How did they get their start? This is
where you get to meet the captain of the ship.
Welcome to CEOs You Should Know and iHeartMedia Columbus Podcast.
Welcome back to another episode of CEOs You Should Know
(00:22):
and iHeartMedia Columbus Podcast. I'm your host boxer this week's guest.
I got to tell you it's he's a busy man.
So it's not necessarily it's not easy getting them in person,
but when you can, you take advantage of that. And
we want to welcome Tom Schmid, who's the president and
CEO of the Columbus Doing Aquarium along with the Wilds.
(00:44):
Tom of my forgetting, I mean, there's you have so
many assets.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Well, we have that zoomba yep, yep, Barry Golf and
actually kind of a new entity, the Columbus Center for
Wildlife Conservation. So that's our that's our new conservation entity.
Oh wow, is that at the zoo?
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Where's that at?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
So right now it's a virtual corporation, but ultimately it'll
have a physical presence at the zoo.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Oh that's fantastic. Well, look again, thank you for joining
us on this podcast. In this episode, when you run
into someone that has never been to the Columbus Zoo,
how does the president and CEO describe the Columbus Zoo.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Well, it's actually extraordinarily unique, and you sort of highlighted that.
First off, we're one of the largest zoos in the country.
But the fact that we have this remarkable ten thousand
acre wildlife conservation center called the Wilds that is, you know,
an hour hour and a half away, in addition to
other entities that generate revenue for us, like the golf
(01:42):
Carson water Park. I mean, we're essentially maybe you could
think about us as a not for profit, conservation focused
theme park and so I think those assets really allow
us to do some pretty amazing things in terms of
visitors day, economic impact in the community, our conservation work
probably more than most other major zoos in the country.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah. I've always wondered this too, Tom, with your background,
and we're gonna dive more into it. It's it's it's
more with with anything you'd see at the zoo, more
biology right. Yeah, So when does a guy like you
cringe when you hear amusement park.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Well, I wouldn't probably use the word amusement park. I
think that's a little bit antiquated. Although we have like
fifteen amusement park rides. We have one of the oldest
roller coasters in the in the in the in the
in the state of Ohio. So I think I think
you just have to put it in context. I mean,
if you have an amusement park that's generating revenue to
support wildlife conservation, that's saving animals for extinction. What a
(02:41):
great concept, and that's exactly what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah. Well, look, let's talk about your journey and how
you got to Columbus. Were you born raised?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Sure? So, I was born in Miami, Florida, and raised
in Naples and spent a lot of time so we
had a house on the Clusa Hutchie River and and
and and on the Gordon River in the Gordon Pass
area in Naples. So a lot of time in the water,
on the water, under the water. And I think that's
probably why I became a marine biologist, which is when
I studied in college and graduate school, and in graduate
(03:13):
school in particular, I was really interested in sharks, and
so I was finishing up and I got a call
one day from SeaWorld and they wanted to see if
I would be willing to help them manage their shark collection,
and I did that for a couple of years. Was
going on. It was going to plan on getting my
PhD and taking sort of an academic route, but I
really enjoyed my time at SeaWorld.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Was that the SeaWorld, Sorry, was that the SeaWorld in Orlando?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
In Orlando? Okay, yeah, and it was It was my
first introduction to sort of informal education, a marine theme park,
exhibit design, all these kinds of things that that kind
of I've utilized for my entire career. So I ended
up spending about six years there and then took a
job helping start up a new organization in Norfolk, Virginia
(03:57):
called the National Maritime Center Nautica. So that was kind
of a hybrid of an aquarium, science center, naval history museum,
and maritime museum. And that was a lot of fun
that really got my interest going in design, construction, development
of new programming, and I ended up becoming the director
of operations there. But I sort of felt that marine
(04:20):
biology pull, and so when I got recruited to join
the team at the Texas State Aquarium, it really that
sounded like a great opportunity, and so I ended up
taking that position, and over the course of about twenty years,
we raised nearly one hundred million dollars and we really
that was one of the smallest aquariums in the country.
Now it's the seventh largest in North America. So we
(04:42):
were able to do a lot of great work there.
But then, yeah, then I heard about some things that
were happening at the Columba Zoo in the spring of
twenty twenty one, and a couple of months later got
a call from a recruiter and lo and behold, and
four years later, here I.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Am now Tom, knowing that, and we'll dive more into
a lot of different things here with your attourney. But
because you had brought that up, you know, with regards
to the Columbus Zoo, that the headhunter contacts you when
you found out some of the things that were going
on at the time, were you hesitted at all to
(05:15):
dip your toes in the water here?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
You know? Not really? I mean, I obviously had heard
what happened. But I also knew that or I had
a strong idea that the institution was fundamentally sound, and
I knew about the wilds and all these other assets.
I knew it was an extraordinarily large and well developed
zoo and and had the history of Jack Hannah behind
(05:38):
it for nearly forty years. So despite some leadership failures,
the fundamental foundation was still strong, and I knew there
was going to be some amazing opportunity in the future.
And so no, I really, I really didn't have any hesitation.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Where you grew up in Florida, Naples, and of course
you know your background with sharks. What's the biggest misconception
most of us, whether it's media, humans have about sharks, Well,
what could you tell us?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Well, you know, the biggest misconception is that they're a
danger to humans. I mean there are there are a
tiny percentage a tiny number of shark attacks each year
and even fewer fertilities. Millions of sharks are actually killed
by people each year as part of a fishery, and
in many cases an unmanaged fishery. So my, yeah, I
(06:27):
think the sharks have much much more to fear from
us than we do. Of them.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Okay, yeah, so jaws not so real.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
So well, you know, it's interesting because we we used
to do some work with a group called O SERTs
that actually go out and they tag white sharks. Wow,
they track white sharks and and and you know, white
sharks tend to follow migratory fish and schooling fish and
oftentimes you know they will be near shore. And so
there's been some really sort of interesting and somewhat concerning
(06:59):
period where white sharks have been noticed close to shore.
And because they have this technology to be able to
track them. Now, so I think it's we have to
be mindful. I mean, they certainly have the capacity to
kill someone, but sure we're not their primary diet. I
mean they do like seal sea lions things like that.
But yeah, again, you think about the millions of people
that go to the beach every single day and the
(07:21):
number of sharks that are out there's pretty remarkable. But
there aren't more attacks.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And Tom, since this is your wheelhouse, I hope you
don't mind. It appears that a lot of this, whether
it's a shark attack and I know, things happen, but
a lot of it is just common sense.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
I'm assuming with humans absolutely. Yeah, the people that tend
to get into trouble with sharks surfers because they spend
a lot of time in the water and they tend
to be a little bit further out. Sure, And there's
even a theory that if you're a surfer in a
wetsuit on a small surfboard, you know, if you were
a shark looking up, you look a little bit like
a turtle or a seal, And so there's some theory
(07:56):
that that actually could contribute to attacks. Surf fishermen sometimes
that are spear fishing probably in more danger. Swimming around
dusk or dawn, and then swimming when schooling fish are
coming through. I mean, all those are typically where you
see interactions between humans and sharks.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
All right, one last question about sharks, just because I'm curious.
If you find yourself in danger with a shark, maybe
being attacked, I've seen all these things on YouTube and
social media about what you should do, what should you do?
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Well, I mean, if you're to that point, there's probably
not a whole lot you're going to be able to do,
certainly if it's a tiger shark or a white shark
or shark. Yeah, you know, striking the animal in the eye,
striking the animal, and the gills, striking the animal and
the snout. Sharks have a tremendous number of sensory organs, tissue,
and organelles in the snout that they have a remarkable
(08:47):
sense of smell electro reception, so they're kind of sensitive
to that area. So yeah, I would just pummel the
heck out of the front of that shark and then
try to get away.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yeah, because you're a Fluoridian originally, I have to say you.
I've I've as a as a guy who grew up
in Minnesota, complete opposite of Florida. I've always been fond
of the Everglades and I was just curious, did you
have a lot of run ins with alligators? And what
can you tell us about aligators?
Speaker 2 (09:14):
The Everglades are fascinating. I've never I've seen a lot
of alligators, never never had a run in with them,
if you will. But yeah, it's a it's a remarkable ecosystem,
just almost unlike anything else in the world.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
It's just yeah, it's it's for me, It's it's just
one of the wonders. I grew up just doing book
reports on the Everglades, And I feel like there's still
a lot of mystery too with the Everglades, do you think, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
It's a it's a very difficult area to study in
many respects. It's it's inhospitable. I mean you have, you know,
swamp mosquitoes, a lot of different animals that can that
can do damage and even kill you. And now we've
got unfortunately, pythons, lots of pythons in the Everglades that
that that are an introduced exotic species wreaking havoc on
(10:00):
the ecosystem. So yeah, pretty formidable space.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Right Tom to that point, might as well ask you
this too, And what you're referring to is people having
these pythons as pets not from that area originally. Is that,
especially with Florida, are you seeing that's becoming more of
a problem, these invasive species coming into a territory that
normally they wouldn't be in.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Yeah, so that Florida, unfortunately, and the Gulf of Mexico
has become the epicenter of that. And one of the
most striking examples are lionfish. So lionfish are these beautiful
fish that have these venomous spines. They're typically you see
them in the aquarium trade. I mean, just extraordinary. Somehow,
about twenty five years ago, a few lionfish were spotted
(10:45):
off the coast of South Carolina and they began to
migrate south, and we just actually we had a program
where we tracked this over time. There are now millions
of lionfish in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico,
out competing the other marine fish. It you know, you
think about the python story in the Everglades and then
you just exponentially. I mean, this is probably one hundred
(11:07):
times worse. There are linefish everywhere in the Gulf of Mexico,
and there's there's no known predators. Were hopeful that at
some point sharks will learn how to eat them. Okay,
but yeah, that's that's another example of of I mean,
just some some very innocent things that happened, you know,
when when those and no one really knows how they
were first introduced into the into the into the western
(11:30):
North Atlantic. But but the proliferation, I mean, if you
look at it over time on a computer monitor, almost
looks like a virus. Just yeah, it's remarkable.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Wow, it sounds to me Tom like Pandora's box has
been opened. Is besides precaution down the road, is there
anything humans can do to battle that? Now?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Well, certainly we have to. I mean, first and foremost,
we have to follow all wildlife laws because there are
very strict laws about who can own wildlife. You know,
who can't. You know what wildlife you're able to keep,
how you can transport it, So, you know, first and foremost,
making sure that everyone follows those laws. And then just
being mindful of the environment. Don't ever release a pet
(12:07):
or or or an animal that you have, even if
it outgrows your aquarium. I mean, find a source, talk
to the person you talk to an aquarium, go to
a public aquarium, don't ever release anything into the wild
unless I mean, that's just first and foremost.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Yeah, Tom, knowing your background and knowing how responsible you are,
does something like that with humans? Does that drive you bananas?
That behavior?
Speaker 2 (12:32):
It's you know, it's unfortunate, and we really, along with
a lot of other zoos in our National Association, we
actually have programs that we've developed to try to combat this.
And you know, the whole notion of a legal wildlife
trade that is a huge issue nationally. And globally, and
it's something that a lot of zoos are focused on
and that we're focused on. And yeah, and again I
(12:53):
think that it really boils down to respect for wildlife,
respect for these animals.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Tom Schmid is the president and CEO of the Columbus
Zoo and Aquarium. He's this week's guest on CEOs You
Should Know and iHeartMedia Columbus podcasts. Tom, we'll get back
to your journey landing in Columbus. So, first impressions of
Columbus maybe maybe it was flying into the job interview first,
what did you think?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yeah, so it had been about twenty years since I'd
been here, okay, and the first thing that struck me
was how green and how and how modern looking and
and and how clean the region was. I mean, you
sort of have I hate to say this, but sometimes
you have this this view of a of a gritty
Midwestern city, and Columbus was nothing like that. I mean,
(13:40):
we you know, one of the first things that we
learned about were the metro parks here, which which my
wife and I really enjoy and and just remarkable metro parks.
And then you know, driving through the city seeing all
you know, the Innovation Campus at os you seeing some
of the things that are happening downtown along the Siota River,
and then certainly in Delaware County weare a Dublin region.
(14:01):
It was just I was really pleasantly surprised with how
beautiful the area was. And then as we started to
get to know people, how friendly people are here. I mean,
you always hear about Midwest nice and you think, you know,
is it real? It absolutely is real. I mean living
you know, having lived in Florida, Texas, the East Coast,
it's a different vibe here, and people are genuine, they
(14:23):
want to help, they want to tell you their story.
You have to allow a little bit more time in
your day for that listening. But it's remarkable, and you know,
people there's a there's a there's a great ethos to
the Midwest that that we are really embracing.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yeah, a big chunk of your budget is funded by
the levy. Of course, when it comes to the support
that Franklin County specifically gives. Were you surprised when you
arrived to see just how passionate people were about their zoo?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
You know that that's really interesting. So it makes up
about yeah, about twenty percent of our operating budget. And
you know, I've been in this field for a long time,
and I've inspected zoos through our accreditation program. I've probably
visited one hundred zoos in my life. And and you
go to most areas and and you know cities, cities
love their zoos and aquariums. But when I got to Columbus,
(15:17):
I mean it's different. People here really really love the
Columbus Zoo and they have pride in the Columbus Zoo.
And again I have to I give Jack Hanna a
lot of credit for that. I give our our team
members a lot of credit for that. It's pretty remarkable
to see that the pride that we have. Our annual
attendance is about two million people a year. Columbus is
(15:39):
the fourteenth largest city in the country. You typically see
two million in attendance at La Zoo and Houston Zoo.
These are areas that have an MSA of six eight
ten million. So just have that many people, it's it's
a little proportionally out of whack. But I think again,
part of it is because of this this unbelievable fondness
that this community has for the Columbus Zoo and certainly
(16:03):
the strong support we've gotten from Franklin County voters. I mean,
I think they understand beyond the conservation work we do
in the economic impact, the educational impact, one hundred thousand
kids coming to the zoo every year, and just you know,
even talking to one of your one of the team
members here this morning, memories at the zoo, bringing their
kids there, going to wild light, seeing the end. Absolutely,
it becomes part of the family tradition, had.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
No doubt about it. And along with your camps and
just everything you do that encompasses the entire family. When
you when you think family, you think you know Columbus
Zoo and obviously vice versa. So when how long did
it take you to say yes to the zoo when
they offered you the job.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Oh, let's see, So it was probably about a three
month process. Okay, you know, three to four month process.
And uh, you know, I think really the more I learned,
the more intrigued I became. You know, I made a
couple of visits up here, really had a chance to
go to the wilds and I had been the Columbusoo before.
I'd never been to the wilds before. Yeah, and I
(17:03):
think that really was certainly a key decision point for me,
just realizing that we've got this remarkable asset and that
we have norm I mean, we've got great opportunities for
things at the Zoo. We have six hundred acres on
our main campus, so we're I would say, the envy
of most other large urban zoos because we have so
much land that we can still develop on our main campus.
(17:25):
But if you think about the opportunities at the Wilds,
we've probably developed maybe a thousand acres out of that
ten thousand.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Wow, that's incredible. So after you said, yes, you knew
about some of the the heartaches that were the heartaches
that were going on at the Zoo, were you prepared
for that? I know you knew about it beforehand, but
with the misuse of funds from former execs.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
Yeah, I think yeah, I certainly was prepared for what
we needed to do from a financial standpoint, from a
board government standpoint. I think what was what really sort
of took me back a little bit was and I
should have realized this, but but the the trauma that
was that that that the staff went through. So if
you think about this was literally one year after the
(18:12):
global pandemic. So these are team members who, you know,
like a lot of organizations, the zoo had to to
cut staff during during the COVID pandemic. So thinking about
these team members that that saw their coworkers being laid
off and then they learn about this grift, this extraordinary
grift that happened among the senior leadership, the trauma that
(18:34):
that impacted, the impact that it had to to uh
to to employ engagement, you know, the loss of accreditation.
So many of our animal care staff would probably never
work for a zoo that wasn't accredited, and all of
a sudden they found themselves at a zoo that wasn't accredited.
So all these kind of unintended consequences of this grift
and and the and the crimes that these guys committed.
(18:57):
I think I didn't fully appreciate that until I got
here and actually started. One of the first things I did.
We have about thirty four different teams departments at the zoo,
and I met with each department and just hearing them
and and and and understanding the depth of that trauma
that that was that was that was that that was
something that really impacted me.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, Tom, was there a moment that you had the
chance to round the troops up and have a meeting
with everyone, and if so, what did you tell them?
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Well, so we we did. We started instituting all staff
meetings and we would have these, you know, several times
a year. And and the one thing that I committed
to them was transparency. You know that that you know,
there were so many things that were part of our
finance program that were kind of a black box. Information
would go in, but it never went out. And so
this notion that we're gonna we're gonna be transparent, We're
(19:46):
going to communicate with all of you, and and the
our new team members that we hired, our new executives
that we hired, are one hundred percent on board with this.
That we're gonna that we're gonna listen you guys will
have a voice now and that and that there are
brighter days ahead.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Yeah. Tom, One of the things I hear about you
from some of your your teammates is how bold you are,
how you know big ideas that you have, which I
love that about you, and I've seen it in action.
I've seen you want to try new things. Do you
Are you ever hesitant just because you know you said
(20:23):
you get twenty percent of the budget is funded by
the public. Do you do you have to keep that
in mind when you go after something.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Well, I think that's that's a great question. And I
think we are we we are trying new things, we
are trying bold ideas, we're being more innovative, but we're
we're doing it responsibly and and and we're doing it
with data, and we're doing it with research and and
and I'm fully you know, I fully admit to my
team not everything we try is going to work. For example,
(20:51):
we did a program last year called Unextinct. Yeah, yeah,
and unfortunately that just didn't perform to the level that
we wanted to do. Now, I loved it, it was
it was a really interesting program. I don't think it
was fully developed. We had huge weather challenges, and technology
wasn't quite fully baked on that, and it was hard
to market. It was a wonderful program, but it just
it just didn't perform to the level that we needed
(21:12):
it to perform. Now, no levy funds were used for that, No, no,
But I think that and I was really clear with
the staff. We tried it, it didn't mean our expectations.
So we're not doing it again now. The flip side,
we did a lantern festival in the fall. Yeah, hugely successful,
Easier to market, easier for folks to appreciate. It actually
looked really cool during the day as well as at night.
(21:34):
That was that was hugely successful, and we'll continue to
do that. We're going to be doing that again this fall.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
I guess that's just an example of where we're not
afraid to take risks, We're not afraid to try things.
But we put a lot of thought behind that.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Well time to be fair with Unextinct, I was there
opening night and you did have a tornado warning and
I believe a funnel claud rolled through that area.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yeah it was. It was an exciting launch, wasn't it.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
So yeah, yeah, it was for sure. So well, let's
get to a couple of things that we we know.
You have a new water slide that's coming for zoombc Pay.
You also have the much hyped, much talked about Reimagine
North America region. So go with either one first, tell
us about.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
It, sure, So we'll start with the with conservation Tower.
So this is an entirely new attraction at the water park. Apparently,
first of its kind. So I'm a little nervous about
whether or not I want to be the first person
to ride it, but it's it looks really cool, and
so I think it's gonna be for for water park enthusiasts.
They're gonna love it, so that that'll be a great
(22:36):
new addition to the water park.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Can I stop you something for a second? With knowing
you and your big bold ideas, where were you a
part of that? Like I I want a water slide
that no one else has.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
No, I have to I have to give our I did.
I did challenge the team to come up with a
new attraction, but no, I give Anthony Sabo. Okay, he's
our Yeah, he runs the Zoombz Bay water Park. He's
an enthusiast, and he really worked with a company called
pro Slide to bring this to us. So yeah, I
give that team one hundred percent credit for that. And
(23:07):
the North America Track. So North America Track, I think
was one of the first areas that Jack Hannah renovated
when he got here back in the late seventies, and
so back then it was remarkable, but as you can
imagine forty years later, you know, it was definitely a
time for something new, So we didn't renovate it, we
completely reimagined it. We completely rebuilt it. So new habitats
(23:27):
for our black bear, for our Mexican wolf, our bald eagle,
are our songbirds, river otters, so great new spaces for
our guests to be able to see the animals, Great
new spaces for the animals where they're living. Behind the
scene space is really good spaces for our staff where
they work so otters. I'm particularly excited about. We're going
(23:48):
to have a huge acrylic window. It's one thing to
see an otter splashing grind in a pool, but if
you can see that animal through a huge acrylic window,
you realize how incredibly muscular, how their swim ability, how
nimble they are. That's going to be a remarkable experience.
And the other thing that I'm pretty excited about within
that region, we had a building that we've repurposed now
(24:10):
as the Ohio Center for Wildlife Conservation, So we're going
to be able to showcase a lot of the work
that we do right here in central Ohio. So reintroducing Hellbenders,
the largest amphibian in North America, back into Ohio Rivers
repopulating burying beetles, plains, garter snakes, freshwater muscles. We have
an amazing freshwater muscle research facility on the Siota River,
(24:34):
partnering with OSU, right across from the zoo. Very few
people have any idea about the groundbreaking research that occurs there.
It's one of the most endangered animals aquatic animals in
the state, and so telling that story in a really
amazing way and actually having laboratories there to be able
to so the guests can see conservation and action, research
and action. So I'm particularly excited about that.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Tom Schmid is the president and CEO of the Columbus
Doing a Quarium. He's this week's guest on CEOs You
Should Know, and I heard media Columbus podcast. I always
found it fascinating to see just how many places around
the globe that you you have the Columbus doing aquarium
tentacles if you will. What are some of the programs
that people would be maybe in awe about that you
(25:19):
guys are are currently involved in.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Yeah, so we we've done We've done a lot of
work in Rwanda helping save gorillas from extinction, mountain gorillas,
and and that's probably been a twenty plus year commitment
our partners and conservation program. And what's a little bit
unique about that is we realize that we can't just
focus on the mountain grills. We have to focus on
the communities, and so we helped create the embalm We
(25:44):
Center there, which actually is a school, it's a health facility,
it's a facility where pregnant moms can get assistance. There's
a bakery there, a music studio now, a garden, and
we actually had a chance to visit that in Rwanda
several years ago and seeing you know, the clumb Bazoo logo,
seeing logos of other partners like Nancy Kramer for example,
and other folks in this community that have supported that project,
(26:07):
and certainly Jack Hannah and his wife Susie their photo,
their name there. It was pretty remarkable how that brand
now extends to all parts of the globe. So that's
been a really impactful project. One that we just launched
that I'm really excited about is our new Center for
Specie Survival for Asian elephants. Asian elephants, so there's a
number of zoos that have created these these center for
(26:28):
Specie Survival, but we're the first two that's ever done
one in country in India, and so we're committing a
million dollars to create this center, working with the Wildlife
Trust of India to really help save Asian elephants from extinction.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
That's incredible. Tom, off the top of your head, is
there a specie that is in very very close danger
of being extinct anywhere on the globe right now? What
would that specie be?
Speaker 2 (26:54):
Well, there's a lot. I mean, Asian elephants certainly starting
to fall in that in that category much more so
than Africa elephants, for example, freshwater muscles. As I mentioned,
you know right here in Ohio. One of the projects
that we've another new major initiative that we've launched is
the Manatee Conservation Alliance. So we're now partnering we've been
(27:15):
helping rescue manatee. Yeah, for about the last twenty years.
So an orphan, you know, amanate loses its mom or dad,
he gets orphaned, he can't fend for itself. That animal
comes to the Columbus Zoo or some of the other
zoo and aquarium partners that we have around the country,
spends a year or two there, grows up, builds up
its weight, and then we release it back into the environment.
(27:36):
But we realize, if we really want to save manatees
from extinction, we've got to do much more than just
rescue manatees in Florida. So we're we're building out an
alliance of facilities, governments, different research organizations around the entire
Caribbean to come together to save manatees from extinction. And
so that's a project that we just launched last year
that we're really excited about.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Wow, that's amazing, And I know your website actually has
all of these stories in the project you're currently working
on at Columbus Zoo dot org.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Tom with do you have it?
Speaker 1 (28:07):
And you have to forgive me because I feel like
when I'm about to ask you, it might be like
asking you to tell me who your favorite child is.
But is there a certain part of the zoo or
animal species there that you just truly enjoy, you love?
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Well, Yeah, that is a tough, tough question. So one
of my I think it was the first week I
was at the Columbus Zoo, I actually had a chance
to interact with our red pandas and they are just
remarkable animals and really really enjoy them. But I think
from a habitat perspective, you know what we're able to
do at our Heart of Africa exhibit. So this is
(28:44):
a thirty acre African savannah. We have zebra out there, Wildeby's, giraffe, gazelle's.
It is the closest approximation to an African savannah that
you probably see anywhere in North America. And for so
many folks who will probably never have the opportunity to
visit Africa, it is a remarkable experience and so that
I love that. That is one of my favorite areas
(29:04):
of the zoo.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Yeah, any chance you know we talked about the North
America Trek, among other things, Zoombizi Bay. Knowing you, I
would have to imagine and how business is there. There
are future plans down the road for something. Anything you
are allowed to talk about, you can say right now,
what's next?
Speaker 2 (29:22):
Sure? Sure? So we have a lot of plans and
and I can share some of that with you today.
So the North America region was so large that we
only were able to do probably two thirds rebuild two
thirds of that. So the second phase of that, looking
at the habitat that we have for our moose for
our for our mountain lions, reindeer that that's gonna that's
(29:47):
going to be the second phase. So really finishing out
the build out of that entire area I think is
going to be really important. We're also looking at doing
some major upgrades to our gorilla habitat, our indoor gorilla habitat,
and then really looking at kind of some interesting transportation
opportunities around the zoo. So looking at bringing a gondola in.
What if you think about how large the zoo is.
(30:08):
From from Congo all the way to Hoa, it's almost
a mile walk. Yeah, having a gondola that you could
just jump on, you could ride over the zoo, over
riverside drive all the way down there, I think will
be will be a great asset for us.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
That'd be amazing.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
We've talked about a hotel for a number of years.
I think we're getting more serious about that. You'll you'll
definitely continue to see improvements at the water park. I'm
actually really excited about some of the things that we're
doing at the Wilds and so one of the other
conservation programs that we've just launched is the Center for
North American Bison conservation. So we are now and for
the first time last year, we have a lot of
(30:44):
bison there, and we produce a lot of bison. You
put bison together, they make more bison. So we sent
sixty bison to South Dakota working with the indigenous populations
there to begin repopulating some prairies. And so that's that's
that's the focus of this new center. And then from
a guest perspective, what we want to do is we
want to we've not really the bison really haven't been
(31:07):
part of the tour at the Wilds in the past,
so we are going to make them part of the
tour in the future. So imagine getting in a truck
and going out into the prairie and being surrounded by
one hundred bison. I mean, this kind of Yellowstone Park experience.
We're going to be recreating that the Wilds in the
future so well.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
And I don't know if a lot of people realize that,
you know, between camping and being able to stay overnight,
would you say the Wilds, out of all of your assets,
might be one of the most immersive for a guest.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Yeah, there's no question, And you're right, because there's so
much to do out there. I mean, it's an adventure park,
conservation center, safari park. You really need to spend the night.
And so in addition to the yurts and cabins, in
about three weeks we're opening the Hellbender RV Park, so
we'll have a new RV park out there, so you
can bring your RV to the zoo, spend to the wild,
(31:55):
spend the weekend, enjoy the hiking trails, the mountain biking trails,
everything that we have to offer it the wilds. We
really want to be able to build that out to
be a multi day experience and I'm really excited about that.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
For those that are listening Tom while this is being recorded,
this is also the same week that the State Auditor
of Ohio held what it sounds like it's final press
conference with the mismanagement of money before your time. Obviously,
can I just ask you real quick, because there's not
much more to say, but is it like a weight
(32:28):
off your shoulders that this chapter's done? It?
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Really?
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Is?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
It? Really is? I mean, this has been a it's
been a four year slog and and and I think
with a final report, and I have to really thank
the State Auditor Faber and his team. I mean they
were they were. The report was thorough, there's no question,
but when we met with them, they were cooperative and collaborative.
I mean they they appreciate the value that the zoo
(32:51):
has and I think they were very complimentary of what's
happened since that period, since since this came to light,
And it started with with Keith Schume, who was our
board chair, who along with the board, took quick action,
you know, conducted a forensic audit, immediately held those leaders accountable.
They were gone, started developing new policies and procedures, looking
(33:13):
at board governance. Jerry Bourrn, the former director, stepped in
on a volunteer basis to help write the shift. So
I was really thankful that by the time I got here,
there had already been a pretty significant amount of work
that was done. Yeah, and so, and we've obviously continued
that with our new senior vice president of Finance, Angel
Mumas done a terrific job restoring trust in our finance division.
(33:35):
So a lot of work by a lot of team members.
But yeah, we feel like we're in such a stronger
place now, and it really if you look at literally
any measure that you would judge the performance of the
zoo were much stronger institution today than we were four
years ago.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
That's incredible. One of another great establishment here in Columbus
is obviously Cosai and bo You and Kosai, both assets
have been on USA Today's you know Best Best Science Museum.
I know doctor Bertley from Kosai has has had this
(34:12):
goal of having Kosai more global, and we really touched
on that with the Columbus Zoo already with the conservation programs.
You know, when when you're in a guy, when you're
in a position like you, Tom and you you know
that you have Franklin County, you know you have Central Ohio.
You've proven to them that hey, we're a zoo, We're great,
(34:32):
and you're beloved. Is there a goal to go regional, national,
global in that retrospect of attracting people to come here
just for the zoo?
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Well, and I think so, and I think we had
that opportunity. I am convinced that that Central Ohio can
become a leisure destination for the Midwest for the nation.
The assets that you that you, I mean you mentioned Kosai.
We've got Franklin Park Conservatory that the sports venues that
we have, or the natural beauty, the restaurants. I mean,
there's so many things that are I think, in extent
(35:03):
to some extent, still largely undiscovered. I mean you think
about you know, Nashville and some of these other cities.
We have so much to offer now, and so that's
part of our goal is to and really that helps
us in two ways. It certainly helps our economic impact.
But if we can bring many more people from the
region and from around the country into the zoo, that
will really allow us to scale our conservation efforts, which
(35:24):
is our ultimate goal.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Yeah. Absolutely, well, Tom, Look, I can't thank you enough
for your time. I want to apologize for my dog,
Dixie biting and untying your shoelaces. Dixie. No, you'll probably
never come back again.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
I wear different shoes. That's what I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
You'll never forget this one, Uh, Tom, this has been
what look first of all, Yes, as someone who's been
here for off and on for twenty six years, I
appreciate someone like you who has really taking the bowl
by the horns. And it sounds like you're really you
(36:06):
and your wife are really loving Central Ohio and we're
glad you're here, well.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
We're happy to be here, and thanks so much Boxer
for helping us tell the story.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
CEOs You Should Know is hosted and produced by Brandon Boxer,
a production of iHeartMedia, Columbus
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