Shedd Aquarium Announces New President

Bridget Coughlin, announced Wednesday as the Shedd Aquarium's new president (c/o Shedd Aquarium)  Bridget Coughlin, announced Wednesday as the Shedd Aquarium's new president (c/o Shedd Aquarium) Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium will have a new president and CEO this spring following the retirement of current CEO Ted Beattie, who announced his plans to step down last April.

Bridget Coughlin was elected by the institution's board of trustees to head up the 85-year-old aquarium. She is currently vice president of strategic partnerships and programs and adjunct curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where she’s worked since 2005.

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“I am over the moon excited,” Coughlin said Wednesday. “When I learned about this position, my heart leapt. It's in a city I fell in love with in college, with an organization I have admired since my aunt took me there in high school. It was an easy decision to put my hat in the ring.”

Coughlin, 44, has previously worked as curator and science advisor at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C. During her time at the Denver Museum, she also established a community-based laboratory giving museum guests an opportunity to participate in ongoing scientific research.

Coughlin said she felt confident in the new role despite her lack of experience in aquarium operations, adding that she had no plans for the Shedd to take on future debt at the institution – a move much in line with Beattie's tenure at the museum.

"We have a real commonality between the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Shedd Aquarium and that is that we are financially prudent and allergic to debt and I think that's a strong way to run a non-profit," Coughlin said.

Beattie oversaw major changes at the Shedd during his 22-year tenure, including the addition of the $47 million Wild Reef exhibit and the $79 million expansion of the Abott Oceanarium, first built in 1991.

At the time of Beattie’s retirement, then board chairman Tyrone Fahner said of Beattie’s successor, “the only prerequisite is that they can run a place in the here and now” and “have the personality to lead the staff here.”

The Shedd's current board chairman John Gilbertson Jr. said the search for a new president started about six months ago. Coughlin, he said, had the right blend of leadership skills coupled with a background in conservation and a focus on museum technological advancement – two areas where the Shedd hopes to advance.

"We didn't have a, 'It's gotta be a fish person mandate' by any means," Gilbertson Jr. said. "[Bridget's] a scientist, she's somebody who's been a museum curator, who's been a marketer and a general manager of a museum and a fundraiser. All those things matter to us and we think she's very strong on all of them."

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