FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo’s Executive Director is stepping down.

Jim Anderson has announced he will retire at the end of the Zoo’s 2020 season, wrapping up a career of 40-plus years overseeing and driving much of the Zoo’s growth into a nationally recognized attraction.

According to a Zoo press release, Anderson is working closely with the Zoo’s board of directors in its national search for a replacement director. He took over back in 1994, and since then has led more than $30-million in improvements and new attractions.

The Zoo’s annual attendance of 600,000 per year is almost double what it was when Anderson first took the job.