New York arts association The Shed has named Meredith “Max” Hodges, currently executive director of Boston Ballet, as its next executive director. The announcement comes as the institution, which opened in 2019 in the city’s posh Hudson Yards, struggles to recover financially and artistically after a difficult few years complicated by the advent of Covid-19. Hodges in October will fill the last position held by founding CEO Alex Poots, who abandoned the role in January, while retaining his position as the organization’s artistic director.
Hodges has led the Boston Ballet, one of the nation’s largest dance companies, since 2014. Under his leadership, the organization’s endowment grew from $14 million to $36 million, while attendance at the 2022-23 season rose to 170,000, its second highest level ever. . Additionally, she helped lead the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Before coming to the Boston organization, Hodges served as executive director of the Brooklyn contemporary dance company Gallim Dance and held various positions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business Schools, she also worked as a senior associate consultant at Bain & Company.
“I’m passionate about audience building and access,” Hodges said in a statement, “and I’m excited about the possibilities inherent in The Shed’s mission, physical space and art.”
The Shed had yet to build a core following or establish an identity when the pandemic hit in 2020. After temporary closure, the institution was forced to lay off twenty-eight of its 107 full-time staff, although headcount has since increased slightly. Additionally, the organization has had to deal with the illness of its founding president, Daniel L. Doctoroff, who left office there at the end of 2021, after being diagnosed with ALS. Jonathan M. Tisch assumed the chairmanship in April 2022. The Loews Hotels chief and his wife, Lizzie, were instrumental in building the Shed, having donated $27.5 million in 2019 .
“[Hodges] is the right combination to join the Shed right now,” Tisch told the New York Times. “She’s a proven leader who understands the business side of culture, but also has an affinity for the cultural side of culture.”
