Atlanta Ballet President & CEO Arturo Jacobus to Retire After 12 Years

Atlanta Ballet announced recently that Arturo Jacobus will retire as president and CEO following the 2020|2021 performance season. Jacobus' retirement will conclude 12 wonderful years leading Atlanta Ballet.

"We are so very fortunate to have had Arturo Jacobus lead Atlanta Ballet for 12 seasons," says Elizabeth Adams, Chair of Atlanta Ballet's Board of Trustees. "His passion for the art form has elevated the quality of our performances and inspired all who are associated with Atlanta Ballet and its Centre for Dance Education. The Board of Trustee's has formed a committee to conduct a comprehensive, national search to identify the next Chief Executive Officer to follow in Arturo's footsteps in continuing to bring Atlanta Ballet to new heights."

Throughout his tenure, Jacobus has been focused on bringing financial sustainability to Atlanta Ballet. With his superior business knowledge and technical prowess, he has helped create a robust source of future revenue through the new, critically acclaimed production of The Nutcracker. Jacobus' visionary spirit has also greatly expanded Atlanta Ballet's organizational capacity.

Jacobus has played an enormous role in expanding the footprint of Atlanta Ballet and its Centre for Dance Education in the community and dance world. Most notably, Jacobus is credited with bringing Atlanta Ballet to a new level of excellence with the hiring of Gennadi Nedvigin, former principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet, as Artistic Director.

Arturo Jacobus and Gennadi Nedvigin. Photo by Kim Evans.

"I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to step into the world of directing a ballet company with a leader like Arturo by my side," said Nedvigin. "His stellar leadership experience coupled with his appreciation of both the art form and the people who make our shows go on have been a true inspiration to me. I feel blessed to have a professional partnership and personal friendship with someone of such dedication, honor, trust, wisdom and highest integrity."

Reflecting on his time at Atlanta Ballet:
"There are few ways I can imagine topping off my 42-year career as a chief executive in the performing arts that could be as gratifying as my time with Atlanta Ballet," said Jacobus. "The support given to me by the Board of Trustees, the high level of performance and collaboration illustrated by the executive team, the dramatic strides Gennadi has made with the artistic level of our Company, the ongoing important work done by Sharon Story and our Centre for Dance Education, and the overall feeling of a family that cares deeply about the mission and each other, are rarities not found all together in most organizations. Also, thinking about the opportunity I have had to mentor younger leaders, about the freedom I have had to act on my strategic and creative inclinations, and about the joy I have felt in seeing it all come together, is enough to keep so many wonderful memories alive for all the years that lie ahead."

Arturo Jacobus joined Atlanta Ballet in 2009. He was previously chief executive of Pacific Northwest Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, each for 10 years. He holds master's degrees in business administration, arts administration and human resources management, and he has completed management certificate programs at the University of Washington and Harvard Business School. Jacobus has served on executive boards for such arts organizations as Dance/ USA, Washington State Arts Alliance, Northwest Development Officers' Association and California Arts Advocates. He has stayed actively involved in arts strategy and advocacy by chairing and sitting on panels for the city of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. Before becoming an arts executive, Jacobus served for 20 years as a bandmaster for the U.S. Navy, leading ensembles in Villefranche, France; Gaeta and Naples, Italy; and San Francisco. While stationed in Naples, under the Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe (CincSouth), he founded a 50-member NATO ensemble from the armies, navies and air forces of Italy, Greece, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S.

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