 On May 8, 2017, it was announced that the aquarium hired Roger Germann as its new president and CEO.Germann came from the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, where he was executive vice president for 16 years, and also served on the advisory board of the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.Before the Florida Aquarium was constructed in Channelside of Downtown Tampa, it was formally known as the Clearwater Marine Science Center located on Clearwater Beach.