Chief Experience & Revenue Officer - Santa Barbara Zoo
Posted: 14 August 2026
Leadership Opportunity
The Opportunity
The Santa Barbara Zoo seeks a Chief Experience & Revenue Officer to serve as the architect of one of the most beloved guest experiences on the California coast.
Created at a defining moment, following a rigorous strategic planning process and ahead of an ambitious master planning effort, this new executive role brings together hospitality, earned revenue, audience growth, and experience design under unified leadership, all in service of the Zoo’s mission to conserve the natural world.
This is a role for a creative, commercially astute builder: someone who sees the full arc of a guest’s journey, from first digital impression to final farewell, and understands how hospitality, conservation, science, education, and community engagement come together to create meaningful and memorable experiences. Reporting to President and CEO Charles Hopper and serving on the Executive Leadership Team, the CXRO will help shape not only how the Zoo grows its earned revenue, but how every visit deepens a guest’s connection to wildlife and inspires lifelong engagement.
Why This Role, Why Now
The Zoo enters this chapter from a position of strength. Attendance has rebounded and remained consistently strong, the local community is deeply engaged, and the tourist audience represents real and underutilized potential. The Zoo’s clearest path to long-term sustainability lies not simply in growing attendance, but in deepening the value of each visit: through richer on-site experiences, a more sophisticated approach to pricing and programming, and a membership program that turns first-time guests into lifelong supporters.
Just as important, the Zoo is creating this position to bring fresh thinking into the organization. This is a leader who will test new ideas, pilot emerging experiences, evaluate new business models, and help build a culture of continuous improvement. The CXRO will also help shape the future of guest engagement itself, from CRM strategy and personalization to digital experiences, audience insights, and thoughtful use of new technology across the guest journey.
The Role
The CXRO leads the strategy and performance of the Zoo’s earned-revenue operations and guest-facing programs — admissions and ticketing, food and beverage, retail, special events and facility rentals, marketing and brand, and on-site guest services. Equally fluent in the language of commerce and the language of mission, the CXRO can build a pricing and yield strategy in the morning and spend the afternoon on the grounds with frontline teams, listening to guests and spotting the next great experience idea.
KEY AREAS OF LEADERSHIP
Experience design & guest journey
Own the end-to-end guest experience, uphold a hospitality-first standard of service, and lead seasonal programming, signature events, and new participatory offerings that drive attendance and emotional connection.
Earned revenue & commercial strategy
Lead performance across all earned-revenue lines, develop a modern approach to pricing and yield that balances revenue with community access, and bring new experiences from concept to reality.
Mission & conservation connection
Partner with conservation, science, animal care, and education teams to design experiences that deepen understanding, encourage action, and strengthen the bond between guests and the mission.
Audience development & community
Grow audiences across the tri-county region — local families, underserved communities, members, and future supporters — ensuring the Zoo is welcoming to everyone and serving fully as a community institution and cultural asset.
Marketing & brand strategy
Lead the Zoo’s marketing, communications, and brand strategy, ensuring the story told through advertising, digital channels, and earned media is consistent, mission-forward, and effective at converting awareness into visitation, with particular attention to the tourist audience the Zoo has yet to fully reach.
Technology, data & insight
Build a practical analytics capability and modern platform strategy — spanning ticketing, point of sale, CRM, and audience insight — to guide decisions across pricing, programming, and staffing.
Master planning & the future campus
Serve as a key contributor to the Zoo’s master planning effort, helping ensure future investments support guest engagement, accessibility, revenue, and conservation storytelling.
Team & culture
Recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing, mission-aligned team across all experience and revenue functions, modeling genuine care for animals, guests, and colleagues.
The Ideal Candidate
The Santa Barbara Zoo seeks an experienced, intellectually curious, and commercially sophisticated leader who pairs genuine creativity with disciplined financial acumen. The ideal candidate has built and grown earned-revenue portfolios and guest experience operations at scale, and is energized by the chance to do so in service of a beloved conservation institution with a spectacular setting and a deeply engaged community.
- Executive leadership — progressive leadership experience in guest experience, attractions, hospitality, cultural institutions, or related fields, with executive-level responsibility for both revenue and customer experience.
- Revenue track record — a proven record of driving sustainable earned-revenue growth and leading multi-disciplinary teams across functions such as admissions, food and beverage, retail, events, and guest
- Innovator’s mindset — comfortable testing new ideas and experiences, evaluating new business models, and building a culture of experimentation and continuous
- Data fluency — fluency with modern revenue and engagement platforms, including pricing strategy, CRM, and audience insight, with the judgment to know when data should lead and when mission, instinct, or relationships
- Mission-driven spirit — guest-obsessed and genuinely moved by the Zoo’s purpose, able to connect commercial performance to conservation, education, and community
- Sector experience — experience in mission-driven, nonprofit, or accredited cultural institutions is preferred; experience at a zoo, aquarium, museum, botanical garden, or major attraction is a
- Values & education — a values-aligned leader committed to equity, inclusion, and accessibility, with a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; an advanced degree is
How to Apply
The Santa Barbara Zoo has retained Canopy Strategic Partners to manage this search. To be considered, please submit a letter of interest and resume in a single PDF to:
Lauren David
CANOPY STRATEGIC PARTNERS
Search@canopysp.com
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is the global alliance of regional associations, national federations, zoos and aquariums, dedicated to the care and conservation of animals and their habitats around the world.
