Robert van Leer, an exceptionally accomplished arts administrator highly respected for his breadth of experience with renowned arts organizations in the United States and Europe, has been named Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, announces The Wallis Board Chair Michael Nemeroff. Van Leer assumes the leadership post at The Wallis, located in Beverly Hills, California, and distinguished as one of the country’s leading performing arts venues, on April 1, 2023.
Most recently, van Leer served as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Senior Vice President of Artistic Planning. In overseeing a $90 million budget, he expanded Kennedy Center’s classical and contemporary programming, including the addition of Hip Hop Culture and Social Impact. Additionally, he led the vision for the 2019 transformative addition of REACH, the Kennedy Center’s first-ever expansion, with flexible indoor and outdoor performance space designed to nurture new artists and expand community. Van Leer began his arts administration career at Lincoln Centerforthe Performing Artsin New York and worked in London as an executive administrator at the Wigmore Hall then as Head of Music and Arts Projects atthe Barbican Centre. Subsequently, he became Managing Director of Nederlands Dans Theatre (NDT), where he reenvisioned the mission of the company as a leading international creative ensemble. He also led Wonderbird UK, a boutique cultural consultancy that advised cultural and corporate clients on social, cultural, and fundraising policy.
