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Michael M. Kaiser has been President of the John F. Kennedy Center since January 2001. Mr. Kaiser has expanded the educational and artistic programming for the nation's center for the performing arts and has overseen a major renovation effort of most of the Center's public spaces.
Signature artistic programs during his tenure have included an unprecedented celebration of the works of Stephen Sondheim, a major festival of the arts of China, long-term relationships with the Kirov Ballet and Opera, Royal Shakespeare Company and New York City Ballet, a country music festival and a retrospective of the works of Tennessee Williams. Mr. Kaiser also works closely with the National Symphony Orchestra's Music Director and its Board of Directors on the Orchestra's performances and outreach programs.
Mr. Kaiser created the Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute to provide advanced training for young arts administrators and has developed a series of programs to help train others in the field. He has created a Capacity Building Program for Culturally Specific Arts Organizations, which offers mentoring services to the leaders of 35 African American, Latino, Asian American and Native American arts groups from across the United States. A similar program was instituted for 33 arts organizations in the City of New York. Mr. Kaiser is also a Cultural Ambassador for the State Department's CultureConnect program. He advises performing arts organizations around the world on building institutional strength through marketing, strategic planning and fundraising, and, in this capacity, is currently working with arts leaders in Mexico, Pakistan and China and throughout the Arab countries. He has created artsmanager.org, a website that provides resources to arts managers around the world.
Mr. Kaiser previously served as the Executive Director of the Royal Opera House, the largest performing arts organization in the United Kingdom. During his tenure with the Royal Opera House, that organization erased its historic accumulated deficit, completed £214 million redevelopment of the facility, created an endowment fund, and greatly increased its level of support from the private and public sectors.
Prior to joining the Royal Opera House, Mr. Kaiser was Executive Director of American Ballet Theatre. During his three-year tenure at ABT, Mr. Kaiser erased the entire historic accumulated deficit, created a second company, greatly expanded national and international touring activity, increased contributed and earned income substantially, and built an acclaimed series of education programs.
Mr. Kaiser has also served as Executive Director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Foundation, the world's largest modern dance organization. During his tenure, the Ailey Company erased its accumulated deficit, expanded its school, and increased all forms of revenue. He has also served as General Manager of the Kansas City Ballet, where he erased the company's deficit.
As a consultant to a variety of arts organizations Mr. Kaiser advised such institutions as The Jewish Museum, the Market Theatre (Johannesburg), Detroit Symphony, Glimmerglass Opera, and many others. He also represented the United States on a commission that established the Arts Council of the Republic of South Africa.
Before entering the arts management field, Mr. Kaiser was a management consultant in the corporate sector. In 1985, he sold the consulting firm he founded, Kaiser Associates, which specializes in helping large corporations formulate strategic plans. Among his clients were General Motors, IBM, Corning Glass Works and 50 other major corporations. Kaiser Associates remains a major participant in the strategy-consulting field.
Mr. Kaiser has served as a research economist for Nobel prize-winning economist, Wassily Leontief, and is the author of three books: Strategic Planning in the Arts: A Practical Guide (1995); Developing Industry Strategies: A Practical Guide of Industry Analysis (1983), and Understanding the Competition: A Practical Guide of Competitive Analysis (1981).
Mr. Kaiser received his Master's degree in Management from M.I.T.'s Sloan School of Management and his Bachelor's degree in Economics, Magna Cum Laude, from Brandeis University. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Arts Administration at New York University, and a Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
He has received the Dance Magazine Award 2001, Capezio Award 2002, Helen Hayes Washington Post Award for Innovative Leadership in the Theater Community 2003, St. Petersburg 300 Medal 2004, Washingtonian of the Year 2004, US Department of State Citation 2005, Blacks in Dance Award 2005, First American to receive China's "Award for Cultural Exchange" 2005, and The Order of the Mexican Eagle 2006. Mr. Kaiser was named Impresario of the Year in 2006 by Musical America.
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