Abt's Lew Ranieri (chairman Of The Board)

[Alexandra]

I'm copying over Ari's post from Links for discussion:

Lewis Ranieri, the chairman of the board of American Ballet Theater, has an unorthodox approach to his job, says Robin Pogrebin in the Times. How will it affect the company?

If and when Ballet Theater no longer has a chairman willing to dig into his own deep pockets, can the company sustain its new commitments? Will the troupe's faith in Mr. Ranieri prove to be a cautionary tale for other nonprofit arts groups? Or is this a heartening new chapter of fiscal health for Ballet Theater?

Mr. Ranieri's strong role in daily decision making appears to have given the search for an executive director less urgency. Last month Elizabeth Harpel Kehler resigned after only 10 months in the job, the third person to move through the position in three years.

[sinyet]

I don't know how Ranieri's reign will ultimately affect ABT, but I do find it ironic that he seems to be trying to impose a corporate mindset onto the running of the company at a time when that corporate mindset is not enjoying its finest hour.

Personally, I fear that a corporate mindset sees everything as "product," which is not a way to run a great ballet company.

I hope I'm wrong.

Cygnette

[Alexandra]

Welcome, Sinyet, and thank you for delurking I think the corporate mindset is worming its way into ballet everywhere -- there's a thread talking about this in general over in the Issues forum that might interest you, too.