TTH 2007 participants.

Taking the Helm: First Months as a Museum CEO (TTH) is a series of conversations led by seasoned museum directors and outstanding academics, all of whom have given careful thought to the steps professionals take in successfully negotiating the transition to the CEO role. For those who have recently accepted or assumed a directorship in the museum field for the first time.

Program Dates

Offered biennially at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California.

		Next offering planned for 2009.

Program Approach

	TTH 2007 participants engage in group activity.

TTH focuses attention on an important strategic period of transition for new museum CEOs: the first year on the job. The challenges are great, particularly during the first six months. So are the opportunities for making a difference.

Taking over a freestanding museum or one nested in a larger organization, such as a university, presents differing demands. Ascending to the directorship from within an organization, or moving on to another museum to assume this role, requires distinct strategies. Succeeding a celebrated director of a comfortably established institution or agreeing to lead a rescue mission in a deeply troubled museum that wishes to forget its recent past calls upon widely different strengths.

Through a series of rich conversations, TTH will address questions such as, what are some successful entry strategies to consider for the first six weeks? The first six months? The first year? How does the first-time director assess institutional capabilities and multi-year trends, accurately and quickly? How does he or she develop a motivating and widely-held vision, form a high-performing executive team, and begin to create a strategic partnership with those involved in governance? What attention should be given, early on, to defining the criteria by which the new CEO's performance will be assessed?

Learning Environment

TTH 2007 participants engaged in group activity.

Learning at TTH is collaborative. Before you arrive, your studies begin with some pre-program readings and assignments. After arrival, the program demands complete commitment and immersion. TTH's effectiveness comes from the time participants and faculty devote to one another, learning together from morning to evening throughout the program. The Getty Center, the meeting spaces, galleries and gardens provide an ideal setting for thinking, exploration and transformation. Hotel rooms for your booking will be available nearby for communal dining, group study and private reflection.

		TTH 2007 Program Schedule (5pp., 270KB) For reference only.

Eligibility and Selection

To ensure that participants learn in an environment of their peers, the Getty Leadership Institute (GLI) has established these standards for participation:

• Participants are, or will be, in their first museum directorship position.
• Participants have accepted an appointment, or have been in their post no longer than one year.
• Participants are, or will be, employed on a full-time, paid basis.
• Participants must be highly fluent in conversational English.

Selection will favor first-time museum directors who have recently accepted appointments and those in their post no longer than six months. If space permits and all other eligibility requirements have been met, first-time museum directors in their post up to one year will be admitted. Early applications are encouraged. Written notifications of admission will be sent to qualified applicants on a rolling, space-available basis.

How to Apply

TTH 2009 dates not yet announced. Please signup to our Keep Me Posted e-mail list to receive future TTH announcements. If you wish to discuss the program in greater detail, please contact us.