Stephen D. Rountree to Retire in March 2019

CENTER THEATRE GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO STEPHEN D. ROUNTREE TO RETIRE ON MARCH, 31 2019

Stephen D. Rountree, Managing Director/CEO of Center Theatre Group, has announced that he will retire on March 31, 2019.

Rountree joined Center Theatre Group as Managing Director in 2015 after serving as President and CEO of The Music Center from 2002 to 2014. Rountree was also CEO of the Los Angeles Opera from 2008 to 2012, a position he held concurrently with his role at The Music Center.

“For 40 years I have had the great privilege to be in senior executive positions at four of Los Angeles’ leading arts organizations, including Center Theatre Group,” said Rountree. “I will turn 70 next March, and I feel this is the time to step aside and allow myself to spend more time with my wife, children and grandchildren.”

“I want to express the Board of Directors’ gratitude for Steve’s unflagging efforts to steward Center Theatre Group into a 21st-century organization,” said Center Theatre Group Board President Kiki Ramos Gindler. “We’ll be forever indebted to Steve for his work on behalf of our organization, as well as the many insights he has brought to the boardroom since he came to Center Theatre Group in January 2015.”

“I’ve known Steve for more than a decade and have greatly admired working with him directly over the past three years,” said Center Theatre Group Artistic Director Michael Ritchie. “It was clear from the moment Steve moved from The Music Center to Center Theatre Group that he was ready to help steer our organization toward a more robust future, including offering his strategic guidance through our 50th anniversary celebration. He continues to be one of the great leaders in the nonprofit cultural scene, and I’ve been proud to call him a colleague and friend. While I’m sad to see him leave, Steve wanting to spend more time with his family is completely admirable and well deserved. I look forward to working with him in the coming months as we look to find the next visionary business leader to continue elevating Center Theatre Group for years to come.”

Center Theatre Group has engaged the services of Phillips Oppenheim, which specializes in international executive searches for the nonprofit sector, to lead a nationwide search for the next Managing Director/CEO. The executive search firm will work closely with Center Theatre Group’s Board of Directors and Artistic Director to identify the best candidate to lead the organization. Sarah James and Becky Klein of Phillips Oppenheim will manage the search. All inquiries should be directed to Ms. James or Ms. Klein at CTG@phillipsoppenheim.com.

At Center Theatre Group, Rountree supervises all management, financial, marketing, communications, institutional advancement, technology and human resources. Prior to his work at Center Theatre Group, The Music Center and LA Opera, Rountree served the J. Paul Getty Trust for 22 years, starting in 1980 as Deputy Director of the Getty Museum, then Director of the Getty Center Building Program, and in 1998, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Getty Trust. He currently serves as a trustee of Occidental College, The Ahmanson Foundation, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and Polytechnic School.

Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, which, under Artistic Director Michael Ritchie, programs seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1600 to 2000-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics and circumstance to serve Los Angeles.

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July 18, 2018