The new role is part of an updated leadership structure for The Met, to be led by Director Max Hollein, who will add the title of Chief Executive Officer when current President and CEO Daniel H. Weiss steps down in June
(New York, January 11, 2023)—The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that Jameson (Jamie) Kelleher has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer. Kelleher presently serves as The Met’s Chief Financial Officer and will take on the new role in May 2023.
The news follows President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel H. Weiss’s announcement last summer that he would be stepping down in June 2023, and subsequent news that The Met’s Director, Max Hollein, will add Chief Executive Officer to his title at that time. With last summer’s announcement, The Met further announced that its Board of Trustees would take several months to identify the optimal leadership structure for the Museum for its next chapters through a rigorous process led by an ad hoc Board committee that would in turn engage a consultant team working extensively with the Museum. The process included interviews with multiple staff members and Trustees, a review of best practices in the field, and consultation and input from both Weiss and Hollein. With this context and review in mind, effective July 1, 2023, the Board has adopted a staff leadership structure that will be led by a Director and CEO with a strong leadership team reporting to him, including a newly created position of Chief Operating Officer.
Hollein, the Museum’s Marina Kellen French Director, commented, “Jamie is an accomplished and experienced leader who brings commitment, character, and empathy to The Met every day. Her stewardship of the Museum through difficult financial circumstances is an outstanding example of how an institution can take corrective actions when necessary while still ensuring that it is living up to the expectations of its mission. Dan, the Board, and I were committed to finding the best person for the COO role and we are very fortunate that that individual is already part of The Met leadership team. Jamie and I share a commitment to continually improving internal structures, operations, and holistic planning throughout the Museum and are equally dedicated to fostering collaboration and coordination across departments. I look forward to her transition to this role in the spring.”
Daniel H. Weiss, The Met’s President and CEO, stated, “Jamie has done a remarkable job leading efforts to stabilize and improve The Met’s finances and operations in her tenure. The intensive effort she led to reengineer all aspects of the Museum’s financial operations has helped the institution successfully navigate myriad global and national crises and established a strong foundation for the work ahead. She is a fantastic colleague and deeply committed to the Museum’s mission. I’m delighted to congratulate her on this well-deserved appointment.”
“It is a tremendous honor to accept this appointment,” said Kelleher. “The Met is a beloved institution and an extraordinary resource for New York and for the world, and I am deeply committed to making sure the Museum will continue to thrive for generations to come. I look forward to working together with my exceptional colleagues, whose dedication, fortitude, and resiliency are a constant inspiration.”
Over the decades, The Met has had various leadership structures and roles. The Museum has always had a Director, while the second role has had various titles, from President to others. The Met’s leadership structure has also varied from a Director and a President each reporting to the Board to the Director reporting to the President and vice versa, and there have also been periods in which the Museum was led by a Director to whom a position akin to Chief Operating Officer reported.
In her present role as Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer, Jamie Kelleher oversees The Met's fiscal strategy and financial operations. She provides oversight to the Office of the Controller, Office of Budget and Planning, Treasury, Financial Operations, Internal Audit, Procurement, Information Systems and Technology, Visitor Experience, and Human Resources. She joined the Museum in 2014 as Controller and was named Chief Financial Officer in September 2016.
Prior to joining The Met, Kelleher led the finance and auction services at Phillips, an international contemporary art auction house, and consulted with a private equity firm on a broad range of financial restructuring initiatives within the food industry. She started her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the firm's technology audit practice and rose to manager in its capital markets, accounting, and valuation practice, advising complex organizations on a wide range of accounting, valuation, and due diligence topics. Kelleher is a graduate of Bucknell University and New York University's Stern School of Business. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
About The Met
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 by a group of American citizens—businessmen and financiers as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day—who wanted to create a museum to bring art and art education to the American people. Today, The Met displays tens of thousands of objects covering 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online. Since its founding, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across culture.
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January 11, 2023
Contact: Ken Weine
Communications@metmuseum.org
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