The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the global alliance of regional associations, national federations, zoos and aquariums, has appointed Dr Martín Zordan as Chief Executive Officer.
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Martín Zordan as Chief Executive Officer. Zordan has been acting as the association’s Interim CEO for the previous 12 months. He has many years of experience in the sector and before joining WAZA as Director of Conservation he served as the Executive Director of the Latin American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (ALPZA).
The clear choice
“On behalf of the WAZA Council, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Martín Zordan as WAZA’s new CEO,” said Theo Pagel, President of WAZA.
“We had an incredibly high calibre of candidates who applied for the role, but Martín Zordan emerged as the clear choice. During his time as Interim CEO of WAZA, Zordan distinguished himself through service and results and has proven to be a very effective Interim CEO and the WAZA Council is confident he will be a strong and strategic leader for the association.”
Dr Zordan said: “As progressive aquariums and zoos, we can restore and create new connections between people and animals. We are able to share our passion for wildlife. It is a tremendous honour and responsibility to be at the service of this noble global community of aquariums and zoos.”
With the backing of the WAZA Council, he reiterated the association’s goals for the next three years, which are to increase the conservation impact of its members around the world, increase WAZA’s global representation and to represent the highest standards of animal welfare.
A collaborative community
“WAZA’s recognised regional and national associations of aquariums and zoos are at the heart of these and other developments, and they are essential to our success,” he said. “The current pandemic has turned our world around, but we will get through this. Our community is by nature immensely collaborative and experienced in managing crisis. We know that we are all struggling as we never had to do before.
“Together we are adapting, becoming more globally unified, taking the opportunities that arise and getting ready to re-open. Our role in society at this time is clear, we need to help others recognise how strongly we are interconnected with nature so that as societies we can act for species conservation and be safe through a One-Health approach.”
Dr Zordan recently spoke to Blooloop about how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting zoos and aquariums worldwide.
