Having a whale of a time at Maui Ocean Center

 Tapani Vuori, General Manager of Maui Ocean Center

MAUI OCEAN CENTER

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·        Tapani VuoriPerson

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By Christina O'Connor  – Reporter, Pacific Business News

Apr 5, 2019, 4:56am EDT

Executive Insight: Tapani Vuori, General Manager, Maui Ocean Center

192 Maalaea Rd, Wailuku, HI 96793, USA

mauioceancenter.com

Maui Ocean Center has been up to some big things lately, literally and figuratively: In February, the aquarium unveiled a new exhibit showcasing footage of humpback whales projected in a nearly 60-foot sphere. The Humpbacks of Hawaii Exhibit & Sphere is a first for Hawaii and the largest of its kind in the world.

Leading the charge on the multi-million-dollar project has been general manager Tapani Vuori, who first joined Maui Ocean Center in 2002 and was promoted to his current role in 2015.

During his tenure at the aquarium, Vuori has overseen various parts of the operation, including e-commerce, food and beverage, and retail. He left briefly in 2011 for a stint at Pacific Whale Foundation, but returned a year later.

“My heart was always here,” Vuori said.

“I could see that we had some opportunities to improve, which we have,” he added.

Namely, Vuori has increased the center’s focus on environmental efforts, from educating visitors about coral bleaching to advocating for legislation that protects the ocean. In 2016, Vuori founded a nonprofit, the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute, which runs conservation programs that include sea turtle rescue, marine debris reduction, and coral preservation.

“Our mission is really, in my opinion, to highlight the issues that are threatening the marine environment and also bring this experience to the locals,” Vuori said. “I really think that we are re-defining the meaning of a public aquarium in a sense that we are also looking at cultural and environmental issues.”

How do you integrate environmental concerns into your business model at the Maui Ocean Center?

I keep telling everyone that No. 1, we need to add value to the local community, that’s really where everything starts. If we don’t do that on a daily basis, then we become irrelevant.

The other thing that I keep telling people is that we are not an entertainment business, yet we still need to entertain people. But there are ways to do that correctly and with reverence and with science-backed data that is actually mindful about the environment.

For example, we were very active in the sunscreen ban, working together with the state of Hawaii and with the Maui County Council … And when I started in this position, I actually hired an environmental team for us. Now we have two environmental directors.

Another thing that makes us very unique is that we have a full open-water flow system, so we pump 1.2 million gallons of raw seawater coming into the system and then we filter it a couple different ways. We’ve actually cleaned the entire water system inside the park coming from the ocean, and then we discharge it back into the Ma'alaea Harbor. We have done a scientific study where we have proven that we are cleaning the harbor.

Tell us more about the Humpbacks of Hawaii Exhibit & Sphere.

Until now, most people have observed humpback whales only from above the ocean’s surface. Our exhibit transports guests far below the waves, giving them an up-close look at one of the largest mammals on Earth. The genesis of this exhibit and the vision for The Sphere was born from a simple, yet powerful idea — to create an experience that is too large for a tank.

We have several interactive stations inside the building, such as Migration Station that shows the humpbacks population movements at any given time on their migration path, topographic table that shows in real-time the individual humpback whales in Maui Nei, and whale song composer where anyone can take the broken-down whale song elements and compose their own whale song.

 The Sphere is a state-of-the-art buildout … We have two laser projectors running the 360-degree experience with powerful computers running the seaming algorithm stitching the moving images together. This, combined with the acoustical projection screen technology with the embedded emitters and active glasses, creates a “holographic” experience inside the entire sphere immersing the audience into the oceans with the whales. It truly is a 3D experience unlike most people have ever experienced.

What is one of the challenges you’ve faced in this role, and how did you deal with it?

There was actually a lot of disruptive change when I stepped into this position. There were departmental silos, so I really had to focus on breaking down those barriers, that was probably the biggest challenge for me.

I never gave up talking about it. I really purposely flattened the organization … and empowered people all the way across the organization to make decisions. At the front gate, for instance, many people think, oh well, it’s only a cashier. Actually, it’s probably one of the most important positions we have here because these are the people who come into contact with the person once they enter the aquarium. And if we don’t provide excellence at that point, they will remember that and their experience will not have the value that it should have.

How would you describe your management style?

The key is being very transparent, and it really starts with me first. I really need to hold myself to the highest standard and level in excellence in everything I do, there cannot be any shortcuts. This is how you build trust, this is how you inspire people. When they see that the person who is leading the organization is leading by example.