David J. Koo Elected Shedd Aquarium Board Chair

CHICAGO – Shedd Aquarium’s Board of Trustees has elected David J. Koo as the organization’s new Board Chair, effective today. Koo is a Senior Advisor at RoundTable Healthcare Partners – a firm he has worked for since its inception in 2001 – and serves on the board of several other non-profit institutions. Koo succeeds Brian A. Kenney, the Chairman of the Board of Chicago-based GATX Corporation, who has served in the Shedd Aquarium Board Chair role since 2018.

“David’s nomination is no surprise – given the dedication that he has displayed to Shedd’s mission strategic vision as a trustee for well over a decade,” said Kenney. “It is an incredibly exciting time for Shedd Aquarium, as it undergoes a dramatic transformation as part of its Centennial Commitment. There’s no one I trust more at the helm of the Board than David – a smart businessman who had a decades-long commitment to community and access.”

Koo joined the aquarium as a trustee in 2009, though his family had visited and supported the aquarium long before that. In his time as a trustee, he has served as a chair and/or member for several committees including Development, Finance & Audit and Executive Committee. He has additionally served as a chair of the aquarium’s annual fundraising event, Gala.

“I am humbled by the opportunity to lead the important efforts of Shedd Aquarium, whose urgent and ambitious mission has lasting impacts for people, for communities and for aquatic life,” said Koo. “We have taken on a significant opportunity to turn the Shedd Aquarium of today into the aquarium of the future – preparing ourselves for our 100th anniversary and the next 100 years of our conservation mission. I could not be more excited to be a part of this historic moment for Shedd.”

Shedd Aquarium is governed by the Shedd Aquarium Society. It is composed of volunteer corporate, civic and community leaders that make up the Board of Trustees and has the primary responsibility for governance oversight and fiduciary accountability, as outlined in the Society’s bylaws. The Board provides strategic direction for institutional priorities through work in both governance and programmatic committees.