Gregg Hudson Obituary, Death – Following a swift but courageous fight against cancer, Dallas Zoo President and CEO Gregg Hudson passed away late last week. His death comes as a terrible shock to all of us, and we convey the sad news with the heaviest of hearts. The severity of this unanticipated loss cannot be adequately conveyed via the use of words alone. Gregg was a husband, father, brother, and son in addition to being a pioneer in the zoo and aquarium sector. He was a compass point for a great number of people. Gregg was a sincere, compassionate, and great person who made relationships effortlessly and maintained those relationships close to his heart despite all of his professional achievements. Despite all of his professional triumphs, Gregg was a wonderful person. Not only was he a friend and guide to a large number of people in Dallas and the surrounding area, but also in other parts of the country and the world. It would be an understatement to say that he will be missed very much.
Gregg’s impact will live on in perpetuity thanks to his boundless enthusiasm, persistent work ethic, and undying love for our Zoo. The Dallas Zoo has lost such a brilliant leader, and all of us here are absolutely devastated by this news. Our group is well positioned to expand on the foundation of success that he established here at the Zoo, and we are happy to do so. Since 2006, Gregg had been the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dallas Zoo. Because of his great leadership and vision, the Dallas Zoo was able to achieve levels of achievement that were previously unimaginable. In 2009, he guided the Dallas Zoo through the process of forming a public-private partnership with the City of Dallas. Subsequently, in May of 2010, he oversaw the launch of the 11-acre Giants of the Savanna habitat, which has since won numerous awards.
The number of people that visited the zoo in 2015 was the first time in the institution’s history that it had reached one million, and since then, the annual visitor count has consistently remained at one million. Leaning on the experiences and knowledge he gained throughout the early part of his career in the hospitality sector, he deliberately emphasized growing conservation resources and education programs in order to contribute to the full realization of the objective of the Dallas Zoo, which is “engaging people and saving wildlife.” Gregg was on the national board of directors for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), in addition to serving on the boards of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (Rwanda) and the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center. Over the course of more than 30 years, Gregg worked hard as a pioneer for the conservation of wildlife. (Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Gregg first served as the Executive Director and CEO of the Fort Worth Zoo for a period of ten years. After that, he served as the President and CEO of the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden for a period of more than five years. After that, he moved back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to take over leadership of the Dallas Zoo. While we are all coming to terms with this unfathomable loss, please remember to keep Gregg’s family and our extended Zoo family in your thoughts and prayers. Donations in memory of Gregg can be donated to either the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund or the Dallas Zoo, as the family has asked for this to be done.