Arts Consulting Group Finds New CEO for Cape Arts & Entertainment
October 19, 2017 – Theatrical, film and music organizations have been turning to executive search firms in recent months to find new leaders. Arts Consulting Group (ACG) placed Jonathan Kaledin as president and CEO of Cape Arts & Entertainment (CA&E). ACG president Bruce D. Thibodeau led the search.
CA&E had been seeking an experienced, entrepreneurial visionary and a team leader who will empower and work with the board, said the search firm. The non-profit wanted someone with experience in financial management, complex organizational structures and project management.
Mr. Kaledin is a lawyer and non-profit executive with more than 30 years of experience working in government and the private sector. He is one of the country’s more renowned public interest environmental executives. His leadership roles include executive director of the National Water Education/Funding Council, executive director of the Alliance for Water Stewardship and executive vice president/general counsel of Natural Systems Utilities. He has also served as New York regional counsel for the Nature Conservancy and general counsel of environmental affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Musicologist
A professionally trained cellist and musicologist, Mr. Kaledin played in the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston-based Copley String Quartet. He has also substituted in the Albany Symphony Orchestra and performed at the Monadnock Chamber Music Festival, the Nantucket Chamber Music Festival and at the International Music Festival of Nice. Mr. Kaledin has delivered guest lectures at universities and conferences nationally and internationally.
“We’ve spent many months in an executive search process, guided by Arts Consulting Group, that led us to Jon,” said Douglas MacDonald, chairman of the Cape Arts & Entertainment board of trustees. “We believe his dual experience in executive management and professional musicianship provides a unique perspective that will be valuable in guiding Cape Arts & Entertainment, and its two organizations, the Cape Symphony & Conservatory, to new levels.”
Wyona Lynch-McWhite, vice president of Arts Consulting Group, said her group wanted to congratulate Cape Arts & Entertainment on the placement. “As both a musician and an esteemed nonprofit executive leader, he possesses all the skills, knowledge, and strategic vision needed to advance the Cape Symphony & Conservatory and create a unified and synergistic organization,” she said.
Talent Leadership Reports
Hunt Scanlon has been publishing industry studies for more than 25 years and our Talent Leadership Reports are now standard reading material for executive recruiters and their corporate talent acquisition counterparts. Become an underwriting sponsor in 2017.
| Learn More |
In his new role, Mr. Kaledin will partner with those working to build the Oceanside Performing Arts Center, a future performance hall. He will leading a senior team of 18 professional staff members across the organization. Fundraising, marketing, team building and communication will be a large part of his role as will becoming a visible presence in the Cape Cod community.
“I hope to bring my decades of experience thinking about and running non-profit organizations to bear on the further growth and development of Cape Arts & Entertainment and the Cape Symphony & Conservatory,” said Mr. Kaledin. “Both the Symphony and Conservatory are models of highly functioning, important contributors to the arts on Cape Cod. Our next goal is to determine how best to continue advancing their growth and success,” he said. “In partnership with other regional and community arts and culture organizations, we will elevate the Cape as one of the country’s nationally recognized arts and culture centers.”
Cape Arts & Entertainment is the largest arts non-profit on Cape Cod and the parent organization of both the Cape Symphony and the Cape Conservatory, having merged these two organizations in 2010. Founded in 1961, the Cape Symphony has an annual audience of more than 27,000.
Performing Arts Specialists
Arts Consulting Group provides interim management, executive search, revenue enhancement consulting, facilities & program planning, and organizational development services for the arts and culture industry. It has identified senior-level leaders for the Long Beach Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Chicago Opera, Stockton Symphony Association and Portland Baroque Orchestra, among others. The firm has offices in Boston, Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Halifax, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Tampa, Toronto and Washington, D.C.
Dr. Thibodeau founded ACG in 1997 and has been part of numerous projects in all practice areas to grow institutional sustainability, advance the arts and culture sector, and enhance communities served by the industry. He has guided hundreds of non-profit, university and government clients in achieving effective leadership transitions, planning cultural facilities, increasing revenues, developing dynamic institutional brands and messages, crafting strategic plans and business models, and revitalizing board governance practices.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
