Leon D. Black has been elected to the Board of Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, it was announced today by the Museum's Chairman, James R. Houghton. Mr. Black's election took place at the November 14 meeting of the Board.
Mr. Black is the founder of the investment managing firms Apollo Advisors, L. P. and Lion Advisors, L. P., and co-founder of Apollo Real Estate Advisors, L. P. From 1977 to 1990, he was associated with Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc., where he served variously as managing director, head of the mergers and acquisitions group, and co-head of the corporate finance department.
"The Metropolitan Museum is indeed fortunate to welcome the prominent business leader and philanthropist Leon Black to its Board of Trustees," noted Chairman Houghton in announcing his election. "Mr. Black's strong, lifetime commitment to the arts and education makes him an ideal Trustee with whom we very much look forward to working. He is certain to bring leadership and energy to the Board, and his fellow Trustees and I are delighted to welcome him as a colleague."
In addition to serving as a member of the Metropolitan Museum's Chairman's Council, Mr. Black serves as a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, the Jewish Museum, Asia Society, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, as well as Mt. Sinai Hospital, the Cardozo School of Law, and the Vail Valley Foundation. He is a member of the President's Leadership Council of his alma mater, Dartmouth College, where he has endowed a chair in Shakespeare Studies and a Jewish Studies Program.
He is a major collector of 19th- and 20th-century art, and is one of the leading collectors of archaic Chinese bronzes and Old Master drawings. "Leon Black has been a generous donor to the Museum in a number of areas over the years," commented Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan. "His gifts of works of art have enriched our collections, and his support of our paper conservation efforts and of our Department of Drawings and Prints has been consistent and significant."
In addition to his B.A., summa cum laude, from Dartmouth in 1973, Mr. Black holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
He is a director of several corporations, including Samsonite Corporation, Telemundo Group, Inc., Vail Resorts, Inc., United Rentals, Inc., Allied Waste Industries, and Wyndham International, Inc.
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November 14, 2000