Florida Grand Opera (FGO) has named Susan T. Danis, 52, as its new General Director and CEO.
Danis, executive director of Sarasota Opera for 15 years, will replace Robert Heuer, who has been serving FGO for 27 years as CEO.
"Susan is a phenomenal choice to lead FGO," said Victor H. Mendelson, President of FGO's Board of Directors.
"She has the unique combination of being a successful opera producer, manager and development expert. We are ecstatic to have Susan build on FGO's history as Florida's oldest performing arts company and infuse the company with great productions, ideas and enthusiasm" Mendelson added.
During her tenure in Sarasota, the company's operating budget more than doubled, growing from $3.2 million to over $8 million. Beating fundraising goals at every turn, Danis increased individual giving by more than 200% in a seven-year period and raised more than $47 million for a capital campaign, part of which funded the $20 million renovation of the company's historic theater.
A savvy businesswoman with real estate expertise, she personally oversaw every detail of the project through its completion in 2008, as well as the overhaul of the company's 16-unit apartment complex. Her efforts earned her the Florida Trust for Historic Preservations Award for Outstanding Achievement in Restoration in 2010.
Anticipating Heuer's retirement, FGO's Board of Directors had been searching internationally for his replacement, forming a Search Committee appointed by Mr. Mendelson to be under Mr. Hill's leadership.
Danis is scheduled to take the position as the company's fourth General Director effective on Oct. 9.
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