Interim CEO at Carmel’s Center for the Performing Arts accepts permanent role   

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By Mark Ambrogi

When Jeffrey McDermott took over as interim president and CEO of the Center for the Performing Arts in August 2016, he had no intention of it being a permanent post.

Jeffrey C. McDermott The Center for the Performing Arts
McDermott

“It was not a goal. It was more call of duty to step in, and I felt I was in a good position to do it,” McDermott said. “I was certainly planning it to be short term to medium term. As time went on I realized this is kind of a wonderful position, a wonderful opportunity to make a difference. In a way it spoke to me in terms of doing the next thing in the next phase of my career of doing something I really enjoy.”

McDermott, 56, will get that opportunity to continue as it was announced Aug. 30 he has been promoted from interim to permanent full-time position of both the Center for the Performing Arts and the affiliated Great American Songbook Foundation. McDermott, who has lived in Carmel for 30 years, had taken over when Tania Castroverde Moskalenko left to take a post at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Eric Payne, chair of the Center’s board, said the CEO search committee retained a national search firm, reviewed more than 40 resumes and interviewed five candidates before making a unanimous decision to promote McDermott.

“It was imperative for us to conduct an independent search, but Jeff has a stellar reputation in the community and has clearly demonstrated his ability to lead the organization,” stated Payne in a press release. “The board has been impressed with the new initiatives in programming, marketing, finance and other areas that Jeff has driven over the past 12 months. We are excited about the momentum at the Center, and with this key piece in place, we look forward to its continued growth and development.”

McDermott, a longtime partner at Krieg DeVault who will now transition into a more limited role of senior counsel  with the law firm, said he realized he wanted to remain as president around halfway through his term.

“I think we have a lot of forward momentum, and the staff is working at a great level right now,” McDermott said.

McDermott said “the professionalism of the people that work here and the dedication of the mission” were key factors as well.

“After 31 years of practicing law, this was a new challenge and allowed me to use a lot of skills I had in different ways,” McDermott said. “I became very interested in doing more, so I saw if they might consider me.”

McDermott, who graduated from Notre Dame’s law school in 1986, said his experience as a lawyer has been an asset.

McDermott joined the Center’s board of directors in 2010 before the Center opened and has since served as the board’s legal counsel and a member of its executive committee, development committee, audit committee, finance committee and governance committee. From 2011 to 2016, he served as the Songbook Foundation board chair.


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