Max Hollein, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will add the title of chief executive, the museum’s board of directors announced Wednesday, giving him full control of one of the world’s largest museums.
Hollein will take on that new role following the departure of Daniel H. Weiss, the Met’s president and chief executive, who announced last month that he would step down in June 2023. (Weiss has been president of the Met since 2015, and president and chief executive since 2017.)
“Max has done an amazing job during his tenure,” said Candace K. Beinecke, one of the museum’s two board presidents, in a telephone interview. “He has instilled a lot of confidence as a future leader.”
The move will return the museum to its sole main management structure, which it has departed from over the years. The Met’s current bipartisan leadership structure, which is unusual for art museums, was introduced in 2017 after Thomas P. Campbell resigned under pressure as director and chief executive.
After previously leading other institutions — most recently the San Francisco Museums of Fine Arts — Hollein said he felt prepared to expand his purview. “It is a great honor, but also something that comes with a great responsibility,” said Hollein.
When asked how his leadership might differ from Weiss’s, Hollein said that although they have “different personalities”, he saw this “as a step in the sequel”.
As for Weiss, the former president of Haverford College and art historian, he has made it clear that at age 65 and after leading the museum through a period of instability, he was ready for a new chapter.
“I’d rather go to the top,” he said. “It’s better to go out when things are going well from a strong position.”