Leading Executives in Museums
Max Hollein
Marina Kellen French Director & Chief Executive Officer, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Director and CEO since 2023, he’s driving The Met’s next era—from major capital projects like the Tang Wing to ambitious programming and digital strategy.
Christophe Cherix
Director (David Rockefeller Director), The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Longtime MoMA curator named the next David Rockefeller Director in September 2025—the first new MoMA director in nearly three decades.
Scott Rothkopf
Alice Pratt Brown Director, Whitney Museum of American Art
Former chief curator who became the Alice Pratt Brown Director on November 1, 2023, steering the Whitney’s vision and collection reinstallations.
Michael Govan
CEO & Wallis Annenberg Director, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director leading LACMA’s transformative David Geffen Galleries project, slated to open in 2026.
Katherine E. Fleming
President & Chief Executive Officer, J. Paul Getty Trust
Academic leader turned cultural CEO guiding the world’s largest visual-arts philanthropy and its museum, research, conservation, and grantmaking arms.
Kaywin Feldman
Director, National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC)
The National Gallery’s first woman director (appointed 2019), expanding national reach and collection representation.
Lonnie G. Bunch III
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
First historian and first Black leader of the Smithsonian (Secretary since 2019), overseeing 21 museums and two new museums in development.
Pierre Terjanian
Ann and Graham Gund Director & CEO, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA)
Appointed in April 2025 and in office since July 1, 2025; former Met curator now leading the MFA as its 12th director.
Sean M. Decatur
President, American Museum of Natural History
First Black president of AMNH (since 2022), guiding major policy changes around NAGPRA compliance and gallery renewals.
Anne Pasternak
Shelby White and Leon Levy Director, Brooklyn Museum
Director since 2015 known for socially engaged exhibitions and community-forward strategy at one of the nation’s largest art museums.
Thomas P. Campbell
Director & Chief Executive Officer, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (de Young & Legion of Honor)
Former Met chief who now leads San Francisco’s encyclopedic museums through growth and fiscal headwinds.
Christopher Bedford
Helen and Charles Schwab Director, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
Appointed in 2022, he’s reshaping SFMOMA with a focus on equity, community engagement, and bold artist projects.
James Rondeau
President & Director, The Art Institute of Chicago
President and Eloise W. Martin Director since 2016, leading Chicago’s flagship museum through strategic growth and reinstallation initiatives.
Sasha Suda
George D. Widener Director & CEO, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Brought a DEAI-forward leadership approach to PMA in 2022 and continues to modernize exhibits and operations.
Melissa Chiu
Director, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Smithsonian)
Director since 2014 credited with audience growth and high-impact contemporary programs like Infinity Mirrors.
Connie Butler
The Agnes Gund Director, MoMA PS1
Former Hammer chief curator and a leading voice in feminist and contemporary art, appointed PS1 Director in 2023.
William M. Griswold
Sarah S. & Alexander M. Cutler Director, Cleveland Museum of Art
Veteran museum leader extended through 2027, advancing a nationally noted strategic plan and early DEI roadmap.
Maria Balshaw
Director, Tate (UK)
First woman to lead Tate (since 2017), championing access and contemporary relevance across Tate Modern, Britain, Liverpool, and St Ives.
Nicholas Cullinan
Director, The British Museum
Appointed in 2024 to steer the museum’s renewal after the thefts scandal, leading a 10‑year masterplan to modernize the institution.
Laurence des Cars
Présidente‑Directrice Générale, Musée du Louvre (France)
First woman to head the Louvre (since 2021), now spearheading a six‑year renovation to boost capacity and improve the visitor experience.
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