Jake Burgess

Jake Burgess is the concept designer and CEO of Sydney Zoo.
He has been integral to all aspects of business development, driving the process from concept to reality and is passionate about conservation and the environment. It has been his mission to develop and operate a world class zoo to accommodate the people of #WesternSydney. Sydney Zoo is the first major Zoo built from scratch in the centre of a major international city in 100 years. The Zoo delivers unforgettable experiences between people and animals. It sees over a million visitors per annum, including approximately 70,000 school students, making Sydney Zoo one of the most visited tourism facilities in Australia. As on-going CEO of the business he is responsible for management and oversight of the complete and diverse range of business operations, including business optimisation, growth initiatives, conservation support and maintaining the zoos social license to operate. Prior to establishing Sydney Zoo, Jake was a former partner and shareholder of Quay Partners, a Private Equity investment firm (now called Stafford Capital) .In this role he succeeded to be made one of the youngest private equity partners in Australia. Jake has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) (1998) from the University of Sydney, and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.