Wadsworth Atheneum Announces New Leadership Model, Appointment of CEO and Launch of Search for New Director

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art announced today
that it is transitioning to a distributed leadership model, splitting the roles of the CEO and
Director into two separate positions, enabling the institution to better seize opportunities in a
changing museum environment, consistent with its evolutionary heritage.

In the new dyadic structure, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will be responsible for the
overall leadership, vision, and strategic direction of the organization and its staff. The Director
will report to the CEO and will be responsible for the artistic direction of the museum, steering
the collection management, exhibitions, and educational programming activities. A search
committee formed earlier this year by the Board of Trustees helped define this new model and
identify the specifications of each position. Together, the CEO and Director form a leadership
team and both will sit on the Board as Ex–Officio members.

“The Board has considered moving to this management structure for a number of years as other
museums and performing arts institutions have implemented some version of distributed
leadership. A combination of opportunity and greater clarity through experience has inspired the
Wadsworth Board to pursue this bold move,” said Gerard Lupacchino, Interim Board President
of the Wadsworth Atheneum. “The Wadsworth will benefit from having expert leadership in
both the general management and artistic direction of the museum. An increased set of skills,
expertise, and experience will maximize the potential of this 21st century, world–class museum.”

“This leadership model expands the depth and breadth of expertise at the highest level. What
makes it work are enlightened individuals committed to transparency, teamwork, and good will,”
said Daniel H. Weiss, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which reinstalled
a dual leadership model in June of 2017. “Having both the CEO and Director on the Board
creates a strong model of shared governance among the Director, CEO, and Trustees.”

To begin the transition to this new leadership model, the Board of Trustees has appointed
Jeffrey N. Brown as the museum’s new CEO. Brown, who has served as the Interim CEO and
Director since April 1, 2021, and previously as a Trustee since 2012, will also continue to serve
as Director until the search for that position is successfully concluded. The ongoing search for
the new museum Director is expected to go into early 2022. Brown will remain as CEO when the
position of Director has been filled.

“Jeff brings 40 years of varied experience in the management of complex organizations, with
unique experience in both for–profit and non–profit organizations,” said Lupacchino. “He is well
known in the market as a corporate and non–profit executive, and has a deep commitment to the
Wadsworth.”

“Jeff’s leadership of the museum over the last six months has been a master class in thoughtful
and effective management,” said Caroline Cunningham Young, Governor Ned Lamont’s
representative on the Wadsworth Board, granddaughter of one of the museum’s storied directors,
Charles C. Cunningham, and a member of the MASS MoCA Board of Directors. “His
unassuming and collaborative approach gives the Board great confidence in a successful
transition to this new organizational model and positions the museum well for the future.”

The Wadsworth is continuing to build on its long–standing tradition of groundbreaking
scholarship and special exhibitions—such as its acclaimed current exhibition, By Her Hand:
Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy 1500–1800—while accelerating efforts to
engage the community and emerge strongly from the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

“The Wadsworth is a very special place, with multiple intertwined and interdependent
responsibilities to balance,” said Brown. “Responsibilities to our proud heritage, relevance to the
present, and preparations for a yet unwritten future all require a range of knowledge along with
innovative, creative thinking and responsive, responsible actions. I look forward to working
collaboratively in teamwork with the next Director, our talented staff, and the community to
further the mission and vision of the Wadsworth Atheneum.”

“The new leadership model recognizes the strengths of the Wadsworth as well as its potential,
which makes this a very promising step forward,” said Tamara Williams, Chair of The Amistad
Center for Art & Culture Board. “We are proud of our longstanding relationship with the
Wadsworth and look forward to partnering with this new leadership team to continue to bring
inspiring and engaging experiences to the Greater Hartford community and beyond.”

“Jeff has a deep commitment to the City of Hartford and the State of Connecticut. He and I have
partnered on numerous community initiatives over the years, including The Bushnell’s
groundbreaking partnership with the Hartford Symphony,” said Robert Patricelli, former chair of
The Bushnell Center for Performing Arts Board of Directors, longtime insurance and healthcare
executive, community leader, and the current co–chair of Hartford Promise. “He will certainly
bring a community focus to the job, along with skilled, experienced leadership.”


About Jeffrey N. Brown
Jeffrey Brown is best known as a long serving senior executive at Webster Financial Corp., the
parent of Webster Bank, and more recently as a senior executive of Newman’s Own, the family
of companies founded by actor Paul Newman. At Newman’s Own, he served as the President of
three subsidiary companies including No Limit, the licensing arm of the organization, where he
oversaw the use of all Newman’s Own marks and Paul Newman’s intellectual property rights.
He also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of both Newman’s
Own Foundation, the parent organization, and the food company Newman’s Own, Inc.

Previously, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for Webster
Financial Corporation and Webster Bank N.A. in Waterbury, Connecticut. Before that he held a
variety of senior positions in Marketing and Communications at Fleet Bank, Shawmut Bank and
Connecticut National Bank.

A Glastonbury resident, Brown is an Honorary Trustee of the Bushnell Center for the Performing
Arts, a Fellow of Eastern Connecticut State University and serves as a director of the Eastern
Connecticut State University Foundation. His past affiliations include membership on the
advisory board of the Yale Center for Consumer Insights and as the founding president of the
Harold Webster Smith Foundation. He is a chair emeritus of the Communications Council of the
American Bankers Association, a former representative to the Financial Services Roundtable,
and a past vice chairman of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center.


About the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Founded in 1842 with a vision for infusing art into the American experience, the Wadsworth
Atheneum Museum of Art is home to a collection of nearly 50,000 works of art spanning 5,000
years and encompassing European art from antiquity through contemporary as well as American
art from the 1600s to today. The Wadsworth Atheneum’s five connected buildings—representing
architectural styles including Gothic Revival, modern International Style, and 1960s Brutalism—
are located at 600 Main Street in Hartford, Conn.

Currently, hours are noon–5pm Thursday–Sunday. Visitors are required to wear a face
mask/covering while inside the museum. The library, cafe, and Austin House are currently
closed to the public. Admission: $5–15; discounts for members, students and seniors. Free
admission for Hartford residents with Wadsworth Welcome registration. Free “happy hour”
admission 4–5pm. Advance ticket registration via thewadsworth.org is encouraged, not required.
Phone: (860) 278–2670; website: thewadsworth.org.