Phoenix Art Museum announces CEO transition, interim leadership team

Jun, 10, 2021

Board of Trustees and Leadership

Phoenix Art Museum announces CEO transition, interim leadership team

Tim Rodgers, PhD, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO, appointed director of Museum of Arts and Design

PHOENIX (June 10, 2021) –Tim Rodgers, PhD, the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum, has been appointed as the Nanette L. Laitman Director of the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York. Rodgers has served as the Sybil Harrington Director and CEO of Phoenix Art Museum since July 2020 and will conclude his service on June 30, 2021. Prior to his time with the Museum, Rodgers served as the director of The Wolfsonian-Florida International University in Miami. He will assume his new position at MAD on September 15, 2021.

“Phoenix Art Museum and the community we serve mean so much to me, and I have been privileged not only to begin my academic journey here, but also to begin my museum career here as well,” said Rodgers, who has worked, in his time, at ASU Art Museum, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and Phoenix Art Museum. “I have had the incredible honor to lead two museums in Arizona, and it is this experience that has prepared me for an opportunity to lead the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Phoenix is home to me—only an opportunity of this magnitude could tear me away from this museum and this community.”

In his time at Phoenix Art Museum, Rodgers spearheaded the reinstallation of the Museum’s Art of the Americas and Europe galleries as well as the expansion of its galleries dedicated to fashion. During his tenure, the Museum also expanded its Lenhardt Contemporary Art Initiative to support the diversification of its collection and focus on the acquisition of works by contemporary artists who are contributing to discourses on race, gender, and other social concerns, including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and women artists, among others. Over the past year, the Museum mounted a robust series of virtual programs during its nearly seven-month closure due to COVID-19 and reopened to the public in October 2020. Rodgers’ leadership, which began in the midst of the pandemic, was essential to maintaining the Museum’s stability and presence in the community during one of the most challenging moments in the institution’s 60-year history. 

“We wish Tim all the best as he pursues this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead a museum in New York City, one of the major art capitals of the world,” said Mark Feldman, chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “Although executive searches are a challenge, we feel confident that thanks to the Museum’s recent stability, achieved through the collaboration of the Museum’s staff and leadership team, the Board of Trustees, and the support of our community, Phoenix Art Museum will be able to select a new, innovative, and experienced director who will lead us through the next decade with incredible opportunities to expand our impact on the community we serve.”

Following Rodger’s departure, Mark Koenig, the Museum’s Chief Financial and Operating Officer, will assume the role of interim director, a position he previously served in after the departure of the Museum’s former Sybil Harrington Director and CEO, Amada Cruz. Koenig brings more than three decades of experience in senior executive leadership, including leading the Museum through the transition to a new CEO and during the institution’s closure and financial impact of COVID-19.

The Museum will immediately begin a national search for the institution’s next Sybil Harrington Director and CEO, working with Koya Leadership Partners. The institution’s CEO search committee will be led by Museum Trustee David Lenhardt and will work in partnership with staff and community leaders.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.