It is with great sadness that the Two Oceans Aquarium bids farewell to one of its stalwarts, Jillian Grindley-Ferris, at the end of October 2011. Jillian has resigned from her position as Brand and Business Manager to join the executive management team of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, where she will hold the position of Executive Manager: Leisure Marketing, and be deputy to the CEO, Calvyn Gilfellan.
Jillian started working at the Aquarium in May 1997 as assistant to the Visitor Services Manager, and was quickly promoted to the position of Functions Coordinator in 1998. In 2001 she was promoted to Brand and Business Manager and was responsible for the overall marketing of the Aquarium, as well as managing various alternative revenue streams, such as membership and functions, and developing new business initiatives.
She has been a strategic player on the Aquarium’s senior management team, and not only inspires vision and innovation, but also has a critical and insightful understanding of the business, which has contributed significantly to the Aquarium’s ongoing profitability.
Beyond successfully marketing the Aquarium as one of the top visitor attractions in South Africa, Jillian effectively and efficiently project-managed the redevelopment of the Aquarium’s east wing, which included the design of Shoreline Café; was the creative driving force behind the popular Frogs: Beyond the Pond exhibition, which opened in October 2008; and co-compiled the successful bid for the Aquarium to host the Eighth International Aquarium Congress (IAC), which will be held in Cape Town in September 2012 (this will be the first time the IAC has been held in the southern hemisphere).
Jillian not only managed the Aquarium’s in-house Think Tank design studio, but was also one of the key members of the marketing team that won an Institute of Marketing Management award in 2000 for the campaign for Fangs, a large-scale temporary exhibit that ran in the Aquarium from 1999 to 2001.
Jillian has an integral understanding of the intricacies of the tourism industry in Cape Town and is passionate about excellent service delivery and initiating productive partnerships between various role players. We have no doubt that she will be an asset to Cape Town Routes Unlimited and indeed the City of Cape Town.
Her departure from the Aquarium will leave a huge hole in this company and we will miss her dearly.
Dr Patrick Garratt
Two Oceans Aquarium Managing Director
