“We had brought our kids over the years to Clearwater Marine Aquarium to visit, back before it took off, in the early days, and so we were familiar with it. “I fell in love with marine life and the environment, and spent a lot of time out on the waters, ' says Yates. Ironman events take place all over the world, often in the most exotic of locations: Hawaii, the Canary Islands, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, to name a few: beautiful places with a rich variety of marine life.

He joined as Vice President in 1989, then became CEO for around a decade.

There was no money, the donors had left, attendance was down and falling still further, and the building was falling apart.ĭavid Yates (pictured left) spoke to Blooloop about how he took on the aquarium at its lowest point and, with the help of a dolphin called Winter, turned it into a global success story.ĭavid Yates had been working as a certified public accountant for two or three years when he was approached to work for the Ironman Triathlon Company. In 2005, when David Yates took over as CEO, the aquarium was failing in every aspect.

Now a thriving global organisation where attendance is predicted to top 800, 000 this year, the CMA has come a long way in ten years. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA), which opened in 1972 on Clearwater Beach in Florida, is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured marine animals, as well as research, education and animal-assisted therapy.

Winter clearwater marine aquarium