Mike Fresher to Leave The Bushnell for San Antonio's Tobin Center

David Fay, President and CEO of The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts announced today that Mike Fresher will be leaving his position as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at The Bushnell to become President and CEO of The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio, TX. Fresher, who also served as General Manager of Bushnell Management Services, will leave The Bushnell on May 10; he begins his new position May 21.

David Fay commented, "It has been a privilege to work with Mike these past six years at The Bushnell. His contributions to the organization have been many and varied; his leadership of our operational departments has allowed The Bushnell to expand and evolve the ways we do business while maintaining our premier level of customer service. While losing Mike won't be easy for The Bushnell, his new position at The Tobin Center is a perfect next step in his career, and we fully support his decision to begin this new professional and personal adventure."

Mike Fresher stated, "My entire career has been spent preparing me to come to The Tobin Center as CEO. The capabilities and opportunities of a brand new performing arts complex, with its varied and flexible performance spaces, as well its location in San Antonio on the River Walk, make being CEO of The Tobin Center one of the most appealing jobs in the country. I was impressed with the thoroughness of the Selection Committee, and I am thrilled to be chosen for this position. I look forward to getting started as we move into the home stretch to open The Tobin in the fall of 2014. My family - my wife Liana and our two daughters - and I will Miss Hartford, but we are also excited about relocating to Texas and becoming part of that community. We already have family in the area, so moving to San Antonio has special meaning for us. Thank you to David Fay, Ronna Reynolds, The Bushnell Board of Trustees, and all my colleagues in Hartford. Leaving was not an easy decision, and I look forward to continuing my ties to The Bushnell through future collaborations with The Tobin."
J. Bruce Bugg, Jr., Chair of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation, which owns The Tobin Center, said, "Our CEO Search Committee worked for more than five months and interviewed a number of outstanding candidates. Mike Fresher stood out with his combination of experience over the past six years in day-to-day operations for The Bushnell while concurrently serving as general manager of Bushnell Management Services. Between performances of all types and meeting and event rentals, the Bushnell has a calendar of more than 350 events a year and is a major economic driver for the Greater Hartford region. In addition, Mike has been a strong advocate for technology expansion at The Bushnell, including up-to-date ticketing systems, which will be important to us at The Tobin Center. He has also been a key member of The Bushnell's fundraising team, so his overall background makes him a perfect fit for The Tobin."