Turnaround of the Year: Small Company

Company: Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Recipient David Yates, Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Behind the scenes of Dolphin Tale, an inspiring motion picture about a dolphin who survived against all odds, is the turnaround story of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, an equally surprising and successful tale.

A marine life rescue and environmental education center located in Clearwater Beach, Florida, Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) rescues marine life, with a goal of rehabilitating them and releasing them back into the wild.

CMA’s mission was well-liked and appreciated by the community, but the company failed to bring in proper management expertise to develop and implement a sustainable revenue and organizational model. CMA was on the verge of collapse, and in 2006 hired a new CEO with turnaround experience as a final attempt at survival.

A multi-step turnaround plan was established. The new team decided to bring out-of-the-box marketing and media concepts from their experience in the corporate world. To begin the restructuring process, CMA gained institutional control by developing a defined organizational structure, establishing clear lines of authority and staff conduct policies, making key staff changes, and restructuring the accounting, animal care, and guest services departments.

CMA also initiated a progressive media campaign to drive awareness. The campaign utilized local, regional, national, and international media from CEO David Yates’ background with NBC, and focused on the inspirational story of Winter, the dolphin who lost her tail but survived and thrived, and now wears a prosthetic tail.

Next, CMA instituted immediate revenue enhancement plans. Every revenue item was analyzed and a model was developed that did not rely on donations or governmental support for operations. CMA enhanced its accounting procedures with new financial reporting formats. A first-time budget also was established with monthly forecasts.

The aquarium’s remarkable turnaround has gained international attention and substantial media coverage, making it one of the most publicized and talked about organizations in the world in 2011. Filmed on location at CMA, the hit movie Dolphin Tale helped increased attendance and revenue by over 300 percent. The movie campaign produced the area’s largest tourism promotion of all time. In conjunction with the movie, CMA installed a new efficient staff structure and implemented an organized animal care and rescue plan. CMA is now 100 percent USDA and FWC compliant, had substantial positive cash flow in 2011 and 2012, and is now one of the area’s most credible organizations.

The organization expects Dolphin Tale to be the number one movie of all time for tourism creation, with a five-year projected economic impact to the Clearwater community of more than $1 billion, while creating and sustaining thousands of jobs.

The inspiring tale of Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s turnaround is likely to be retold for years to come, inspiring other distressed companies and nonprofits.