Kate Nolan
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 25, 2006 12:00 AM
The naming of a new chief executive by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation may end two years of tumult for the 66-year-old group that controls a major part of the Wright legacy.
The Scottsdale foundation's board of directors this week hired Phil Allsopp, a British-born architect and health care executive with a broad background in planning facilities and strategic services for U.S. health care organizations...
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... ght25.html
Mark Hertzberg
New CEO for the Foundation
-
Guest
For those of you who can't open the link or if the article has expired.
Don't give me any grief Hertburg!
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New Wright Foundation chief exec not looking back
Kate Nolan
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 25, 2006 12:00 AM
The naming of a new chief executive by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation may end two years of tumult for the 66-year-old group that controls a major part of the Wright legacy.
The Scottsdale foundation's board of directors this week hired Phil Allsopp, a British-born architect and health care executive with a broad background in planning facilities and strategic services for U.S. health care organizations. Allsopp, 56, has worked on several non-profit projects, including fund-raising for the Boston Public Library and rebuilding the Yankee Air Museum in Michigan.
"He's a good fit for where we're at and where we need to go," Gerald Morosco, chairman of the foundation's board of directors, said, nodding at the climate of change now apparent at the foundation, which owns Wright's campuses, Taliesin West in Scottsdale and Taliesin in Spring Green, Wis. With an annual budget of $6 million, the group also runs licensing and tourism operations, an extensive archive and an architecture school.
"This is the appointment we've been waiting for. The groundwork has been laid for the past two years," said Vernon Swaback, a Scottsdale architect.
Swaback resigned as board chairman in December after a number of fundamental changes were adopted, including "Vision 2010," an outline to rally the institution around Wright's ideas on nature and building with environmental sensitivity.
Wright's role as arguably the first environmentalist is of particular interest to Allsopp.
"In the foundation, I detected more than a passing glimpse at connecting Wright with the issues of the 21st century," Allsopp said.
Morosco said Allsopp eclipsed four other job finalists because he grasped the foundation's mission.
"Everybody else was about a house museum and backward-looking things. Phil was talking about Wright's ideas and moving forward," Morosco said.
Looking backward
Morosco and other Taliesin West figures see Allsopp as a consensus builder. A former colleague described him as a collaborator, a trait that may prove useful in light of recent events.
The previous chief executive, James Goulka, a former Encyclopedia Britannica executive, was sacked in April 2004 after he ordered spending cuts and pushed for other adjustments that addressed looming financial and legal problems. The Taliesin Fellowship, a group of longtime residents, some with ties to Wright, objected and exercised the power of its board majority.
Goulka's departure triggered a slew of resignations by board members and the school's faculty and students. Board member Robert Harr was named interim leader but was asked to leave a few months later.
The foundation has since been led by a trio of two staff members and the board chairman.
In September, the fellowship agreed to cede much of its power and its board majority, and a national search firm was hired to find a chief executive.
No white knight
Allsopp, whose resume frequently merges architecture with health care, came to the position after hearing an interview on National Public Radio with the foundation's chief of operations, Beverly Hart. She described the group's recent turbulence with candor.
"It was interesting to hear of a group that had gone through change and was willing to discuss it," said Allsopp, who contacted the foundation and was funneled to the search firm.
Morosco sees Allsopp as a catalyst more than a white knight.
"The board is not looking at this CEO as someone who is going to autonomously solve issues and raise money, but more as a facilitator and consensus builder," he said.
Recent organizational changes are likely to streamline the job.
Previous CEOs supervised day-to-day operations of both Taliesin campuses with residences, community dining rooms, a school and a $3 million tourist business.
Hart will continue managing operations, allowing Allsopp to focus more on big-picture activities such as fund-raising and refocusing resources toward the group's increasingly evangelistic mission to make the world better through design.
Allsopp plans to work with the staff and board to establish fund-raising goals.
Both national landmark Taliesin campuses are in dire need of restoration, with costs estimated at more than $100 million.
"None of it will be easy, and none is a slam dunk in this economy," Allsopp said.
Whether Allsopp can survive the intricacies of foundation politics is another matter, although the fellowship's acquiescence to change has eliminated much internal tension, according to Hart and others.
"Organizations all go through those rocky patches. I've met the members of the fellowship, and we've had frank and direct communication on the future," Allsopp said. "The past is like swimming with an anvil on your necks."
Don't give me any grief Hertburg!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Wright Foundation chief exec not looking back
Kate Nolan
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 25, 2006 12:00 AM
The naming of a new chief executive by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation may end two years of tumult for the 66-year-old group that controls a major part of the Wright legacy.
The Scottsdale foundation's board of directors this week hired Phil Allsopp, a British-born architect and health care executive with a broad background in planning facilities and strategic services for U.S. health care organizations. Allsopp, 56, has worked on several non-profit projects, including fund-raising for the Boston Public Library and rebuilding the Yankee Air Museum in Michigan.
"He's a good fit for where we're at and where we need to go," Gerald Morosco, chairman of the foundation's board of directors, said, nodding at the climate of change now apparent at the foundation, which owns Wright's campuses, Taliesin West in Scottsdale and Taliesin in Spring Green, Wis. With an annual budget of $6 million, the group also runs licensing and tourism operations, an extensive archive and an architecture school.
"This is the appointment we've been waiting for. The groundwork has been laid for the past two years," said Vernon Swaback, a Scottsdale architect.
Swaback resigned as board chairman in December after a number of fundamental changes were adopted, including "Vision 2010," an outline to rally the institution around Wright's ideas on nature and building with environmental sensitivity.
Wright's role as arguably the first environmentalist is of particular interest to Allsopp.
"In the foundation, I detected more than a passing glimpse at connecting Wright with the issues of the 21st century," Allsopp said.
Morosco said Allsopp eclipsed four other job finalists because he grasped the foundation's mission.
"Everybody else was about a house museum and backward-looking things. Phil was talking about Wright's ideas and moving forward," Morosco said.
Looking backward
Morosco and other Taliesin West figures see Allsopp as a consensus builder. A former colleague described him as a collaborator, a trait that may prove useful in light of recent events.
The previous chief executive, James Goulka, a former Encyclopedia Britannica executive, was sacked in April 2004 after he ordered spending cuts and pushed for other adjustments that addressed looming financial and legal problems. The Taliesin Fellowship, a group of longtime residents, some with ties to Wright, objected and exercised the power of its board majority.
Goulka's departure triggered a slew of resignations by board members and the school's faculty and students. Board member Robert Harr was named interim leader but was asked to leave a few months later.
The foundation has since been led by a trio of two staff members and the board chairman.
In September, the fellowship agreed to cede much of its power and its board majority, and a national search firm was hired to find a chief executive.
No white knight
Allsopp, whose resume frequently merges architecture with health care, came to the position after hearing an interview on National Public Radio with the foundation's chief of operations, Beverly Hart. She described the group's recent turbulence with candor.
"It was interesting to hear of a group that had gone through change and was willing to discuss it," said Allsopp, who contacted the foundation and was funneled to the search firm.
Morosco sees Allsopp as a catalyst more than a white knight.
"The board is not looking at this CEO as someone who is going to autonomously solve issues and raise money, but more as a facilitator and consensus builder," he said.
Recent organizational changes are likely to streamline the job.
Previous CEOs supervised day-to-day operations of both Taliesin campuses with residences, community dining rooms, a school and a $3 million tourist business.
Hart will continue managing operations, allowing Allsopp to focus more on big-picture activities such as fund-raising and refocusing resources toward the group's increasingly evangelistic mission to make the world better through design.
Allsopp plans to work with the staff and board to establish fund-raising goals.
Both national landmark Taliesin campuses are in dire need of restoration, with costs estimated at more than $100 million.
"None of it will be easy, and none is a slam dunk in this economy," Allsopp said.
Whether Allsopp can survive the intricacies of foundation politics is another matter, although the fellowship's acquiescence to change has eliminated much internal tension, according to Hart and others.
"Organizations all go through those rocky patches. I've met the members of the fellowship, and we've had frank and direct communication on the future," Allsopp said. "The past is like swimming with an anvil on your necks."