Max Hollein, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, added the title of chief executive officer announced Wednesday by the museum’s board of directors, giving him full control over one of the world’s largest museums.
Hollein will take over the new role of Metropolitan Airlines President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel H. Weiss, who announced last month that he will step down in June 2023. Executive Officer since 2017. )
“Max has done a great job during his tenure,” Candace K. Beinecke, one of the museum’s two board chairs, said in a telephone interview. “He gave me a lot of confidence as a future leader.”
The move will return the museum to a single supreme management structure after years of separation. The Met’s current two-pronged leadership structure, which came in 2017 after Thomas P. Campbell resigned under pressure as curator and chief executive, is unusual for a museum.
Hollein, who has previously headed other institutions, most recently a museum in San Francisco, said he feels ready to expand his reach. “It’s a great honor, but it also comes with a big responsibility,” Hollein said.
Asked how his leadership would differ from Weiss’, Hollein said that although they have “different personalities,” he sees this as a “step of continuation.”
Weiss, the former president of Haverford College and an art historian, has revealed he is ready for a new chapter after leading the museum through turbulent times at age 65.
“I’d rather go up,” he said. “It’s better to come out when you’re in good shape from a strong position.”
