With previous CEO's exit still unexplained, Newfields announces search for new leader
About three and a half months after the sudden, unexplained departure of Newfields' CEO and President Colette Pierce Burnette, the art museum and nature campus has announced a search to fill the top position.
Seven Board of Trustees members will start the process to recruit a new CEO, and Newfields has hired the search firm Koya Partners, which will vet a diverse slate of candidates, Newfields said Thursday in a news release. From there, the search committee and Koya will evaluate candidates and hold interviews before the Board of Trustees chooses and approves the hire.
More: Newfields' handling of CEO's exit is 'an unforced error' eroding public trust, experts say
Newfields plans to fill the role by the end of the year — a timeline developed with Koya — though the date is a goal and not definitive, according to Jonathan Berger, Newfields' vice president of marketing and external affairs.
"The board is so grateful for the tremendous staff, our dedicated volunteers and the leadership team for guiding Newfields over the past few months," said Anne Sellers, search committee chair and board vice chair, in the release. "As we embark on the search for a new President & CEO, it is essential that we prioritize finding a visionary leader who not only possesses the necessary expertise and experience but also embodies our organization’s values and commitment to excellence."
The search committee consists of the following trustees: Sellers; Board Chair Darrianne Christian; Michael Kubacki, Newfields' interim president and CEO; Alan Mills, a retired partner of Barnes & Thornburg LLC; philanthropist Kathi Postlethwait; Ian Rupert, managing partner of RSLP Ventures; and Doug Singleton, Board of Governors chair and principal at Singleton Companies.
Newfields has declined to make Christian, Kubacki and members of the search committee available for interviews with IndyStar.
Burnette abruptly departed Nov. 10 as CEO and president. It remains unclear whether she resigned or was terminated. When reached by IndyStar, she has declined to comment.
In the wake of that incident, community members held a protest that questioned Newfields' commitment to diversity and inclusion. Five trustees and four members of the non-governing, community advocacy-forward Board of Governors have resigned since. The Board of Trustees has filled two of the empty positions.
More: Here are the board members who have left Newfields — and what they've said about it
Nonprofit industry experts told IndyStar in a Feb. 7 story that Newfields' next CEO will need to be assured of board support and that the past few years' events — including the controversial 2021 museum director job post calling to maintain a "traditional, core, white art audience" while diversifying visitors — will make finding a new candidate difficult.
When asked by IndyStar if Newfields is concerned about finding a qualified candidate given the questions around Burnette's exit and the resignations, Berger wrote that the institution is excited to work with Koya and noted its record of finding leaders for other Indiana nonprofits."We feel (Koya's) deep knowledge of our state and region, coupled with an expansive national network of potential applicants, makes them the right fit at the right time and will result in the right selection," he continued in the email.
The search announcement is posted at discovernewfields.org/president-ceo, where the job description will be forthcoming, the release states. Inquiries about the search can be sent to Koya at [email protected].
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Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or [email protected]. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Newfields announces its search for new CEO