(New York, May 12, 2015)—The Board of Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that it has elected three new members—N. Anthony Coles, Álvaro Saieh, and Mary J. Wallach. The election took place at the May 12 meeting of the Board. Dr. Coles and Dr. Saieh are Elective Trustees; Mrs. Wallach is an Honorary Trustee.
In making the announcement, Daniel Brodsky, the Board’s Chairman, said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome these three talented and accomplished individuals to the Museum’s Board. With varied and wide-ranging professional experience, they share an abiding dedication to the Met and its activities. I look forward to working with each of them as they join the leadership of this institution.”
Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum, continued: “The superb guidance that the Museum’s Board of Trustees has provided over the past 145 years results from their depth of experience and their varied perspectives. I am delighted that our new Trustees continue in this tradition and with their combined expertise in business, health care, economics, and philanthropy.”
N. Anthony Coles, M.D.
Biotechnology industry leader Dr. N. Anthony Coles is the founding investor, chairman, and CEO of Yumanity Therapeutics, a company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that addresses neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS—also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).
Dr. Coles is also the chairman and CEO of TRATE Enterprises, LLC, a privately held company. Previously, he served as chairman and CEO of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired in 2013 by Amgen. He was president, CEO, and a member of the board of directors of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; senior vice president of commercial operations at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; he held executive positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and positions of increasing responsibility at Merck & Co., Inc.
Educated at Johns Hopkins University, he earned an M.D. from Duke University and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. He completed his cardiology and internal medicine training at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a research fellow at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Coles is a member of the board of directors of McKesson Corporation, a health care services company. He is vice chair of the board of trustees for Johns Hopkins University and is a member of the board of trustees for Johns Hopkins Medicine. Dr. Coles also serves as a member of the council for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
He was a member of the Metropolitan Museum’s Multicultural Benefit Committee in 2013.
Álvaro Saieh
The economist, entrepreneur, and academician Álvaro Saieh is the chairman of the board of CorpGroup Interhold, the Chilean company that controls CorpBanca and SMU S.A. He has presided on the boards of many other important companies in Chile and has been a member of the boards of Sofofa (an association of industrial companies) and the Santiago Stock Exchange, among others.
Álvaro Saieh also served as Dean of Economics and Business, the Pro Chancellor of the University of Chile, and as the chief economist of Chile’s Central Bank. He is the recipient of numerous awards in recognition of his contribution to the growth and development of Chile and the region.
A collector of Renaissance (particularly early Italian), modern, and contemporary art, Dr. Saieh chairs the CorpArtes Foundation, a family foundation that supports artistic and cultural activities in Chile and abroad. He has been a trustee of The University of Chicago since 2012, and is actively involved with other cultural institutions including the Museo Nacional del Prado, the Fundación Privada Arte y Mecenazgo, the Museo del Prado’s Friends Foundation, and the Teatro Real. He also serves on the board of the Fundación Museo Reina Sofia as a Founder and Supporting Member.
Dr. Saieh joined the Metropolitan Museum as a member in 1995. He has been a member of the European Paintings Visiting Committee since 2011. In 2014, he was one of the donors of Giovanni Battista Gaulli’s Portrait of a Woman.
He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and his graduate degree in economics from the University of Chile.
Mary J. Wallach
Mary J. Wallach is the president of the Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation and a former director of the Miriam G. and Ira D. Wallach Foundation.
Among numerous philanthropic activities, she is a board member at the New York Philharmonic and Central Park Conservancy, a donor at Westchester Community College, and a former member of the Juilliard Council.
At the Metropolitan, Mrs. Wallach is a docent in the Arts of Japan galleries. She has been a member of the Museum’s Friends of Asian Art since 1998, and of the Asian Art Visiting Committee since 2010. In 2014, she endowed the Mary and James Wallach Family Conservatorship of Asian Art, and was elected a Fellow for Life. She has been a frequent donor to the Museum’s Acquisitions Benefit and has helped fund the Education department’s Resources for Educators Series. Featuring informative texts, high-quality images, lesson plans, and suggested activities, these publications are available free to every New York City Public School (one kit per school).
Mrs. Wallach is a collector of Japanese screens, works by Fukami Sueharu (a contemporary Japanese ceramist), and contemporary art.
She was educated at New York University.
# # #
May 12, 2015
Press resources