Hospitality Icon to Lead Georgia Aquarium
Mike Leven Elected by Board of Directors
SEPTEMBER 18, 2008. Hotel industry icon Mike Leven, who has acted as the interim CEO of the Georgia Aquarium since May, has been elected Chief Executive Officer by the Aquarium's Board of Directors.
Bernie Marcus, Aquarium benefactor and Chairman of the Georgia Aquarium Board, said, "Mike Leven has put new energy into the Aquarium and is already making additions and changes that will make guests want to visit over and over again."
"He was once named one of the '25 Most Extraordinary Sales and Marketing Minds in Hospitality & Travel', and we have encouraged him to apply that creativity to the Aquarium," Marcus added.
Since joining the Aquarium, Leven has brought in Titanic Aquatic, an exhibition that has drawn tens of thousands of visitors since opening in August, and new animals including Nandi, the first manta ray in a U.S. Aquarium.
"We're just getting started," said Mike Leven. "I learned a long time ago in the hospitality industry that, while guests want consistency in things like good customer service, they also expect to be enticed to return. Every ninety days, we'll be bringing a new animal or exhibit to the Aquarium, so that every time visitors come, there is a new WOW factor."
Leven was formerly President and CEO of US Franchise Systems, Inc. (USFS), the company he founded that franchises Microtel Inns & Suites and Hawthorn Suites hotel brands. Prior to that, he was president and COO of Holiday Inn Worldwide and, from 1985 to 1990, president of Days Inn of America. Most recently, Leven was Vice-Chairman of the Georgia Aquarium as well as Chief Operating Officer of the Marcus Foundation. Leven has resigned from his duties at the Marcus Foundation to focus solely on the success of the Georgia Aquarium.
"I left a sign on my old office door that says, 'Gone Fishing,' " Leven said.
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