Staff

Brian Hunt

CEO

Brian founded IAE over 60 years ago with his brothers to assist the zoo community in meeting their needs for relocation of exotic animals. He grew the firm into the leading provider of animal relocation services.

Over this time, he has led the shipment of over 7,000 specimens globally, ranging from transportation of a single animal to a complete zoo. He has forged close working relationships with the zoo community, government agencies, and wildlife conservation organizations to develop and promote animal welfare both overall and during transportation.

Career highlights include:
  • Negotiated with USDA for a change in protocol for quarantine to enable transport by charter air cargo, after which time 99 percent of all high-security quarantine wildlife shipments traveled by air to the United States. This innovation reduced the transit time from a month at sea to approximately 24 hours.
  • Supported captive-bred wildlife populations by personally directing the export of over 4,000 large animals from the U.S. to qualified facilities around the world.
  • Established a marine mammal facility to rehabilitate and release beached and stranded California sea lions. The facility was subsequently donated to the California Sea Lion Rehabilitation project.
  • Facilitated the sourcing and shipment of over 150 species in a six-month period to populate a new facility in Asia. IAE coordinated permits, negotiations with various government agencies.

Holly Hunt

President

In 40 years with the company, Holly has traveled the globe accompanying animals on shipments both domestically and internationally.
 

Holly regularly consults with zoos, regulators and scientists on improving animal safety during transport. She also has worked closely with government agencies around the world to establish dialogue that promotes global conservation initiatives through compromise, cooperation and best practices.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Hillsdale College and her master’s degree from the University of Detroit. Holly continues to learn, furthering her professional training through numerous continuing education programs.
 

As President of IAE, Holly oversees the day-to-day operations of the organization and coordinates the domestic and international relocation of animals while ensuring compliance with governing agencies. She is a current member and former director of the Zoological Association of America, an organization dedicated to animal welfare, zoo education, wildlife conservation and public advocacy.