Penny and Jeff Vinik Executive Director

About Tampa Museum of Art

Established in 1920, the Tampa Museum of Art stands as a beacon of culture and education in the heart of downtown Tampa. Celebrating over a century of artistic excellence, the Museum provides a welcoming space where everyone can connect through creativity, explore new perspectives, and find inspiration in exhibitions that range from ancient treasures to contemporary expressions. It proudly houses one of the most significant collections of Greek and Roman antiquities in the southeastern United States, as well as a vivid collection of modern and contemporary art encompassing sculpture, photography, painting, textiles, and new media.

The Museum’s commitment to education and community engagement shines through its Vinik Family Education Center. Art educators offer a variety of year-round art classes, insightful lectures, and engaging tours for all ages, fostering artistic discovery and learning. Through innovative outreach programs, the Museum extends its reach with art-therapy-informed initiatives and creative platforms for everyone.

Tampa Museum of Art’s collections form the foundation of its programming, encompassing a distinguished holding of Greek and Roman antiquities alongside a growing collection of modern and contemporary art. These collections span a wide range of media, including sculpture, painting, photography, textiles, and new media, and provide a rich platform for exploring artistic expression across time and cultures. The museum leverages these holdings to create meaningful connections between ancient and contemporary works, offering visitors opportunities to engage with both historical depth and current artistic innovation.

Building on this foundation, the museum’s exhibition program presents a dynamic rotation of temporary exhibitions that highlight both internationally recognized artists and emerging voices. The museum also demonstrates a commitment to supporting the local creative community by featuring and collaborating with Tampa-based artists within its exhibition program.

For more information on Tampa Museum of Art, please visit: Tampa Museum of Art.

Collections

The Tampa Museum of Art’s permanent collection includes over 7,000 objects. It holds one of the most significant collections of Greek and Roman antiquities in the southeastern United States, as well as a vivid collection of modern and contemporary art encompassing sculpture, photography, painting, textiles, and new media.

Recent special acquisitions include the monumental ceramic sculpture, Untitled (Dango) by Japanese-American artist Jun Kaneko, and Baruj Salinas’ Penca de Palma Triste series.

To read more about the collection, please visit: TMA Collections.

Education

The Tampa Museum of Art offers a robust range of educational programs designed to engage learners of all ages and experience levels. Anchored by the Vinik Family Education Center, the museum provides year-round studio art classes, workshops, and camps that encourage hands-on creativity and skill-building. Visitors can also participate in lectures, gallery talks, and guided tours that deepen understanding of exhibitions and the permanent collection. The museum partners with schools and community organizations to deliver outreach programs that expand access to arts education across the region.

Visitor Engagement

TMA welcomes over 90,000 visitors annually. The Museum offers several free programs and admission opportunities, including the monthly Art on the Spectrum program (sensory-friendly Sundays) and Art on the House (pay-as-you-will) on Thursday evenings.

Financials, Staff, & Governance

TMA’s annual operating budget is $7 million. The Museum employs a dedicated team of 70 full and part-time employees. TMA is governed by a 40-person Board of Trustees and a 16-member Foundation Board. The Tampa Museum of Art launched its $100M Centennial Campaign for Renovation and Expansion in 2020, coinciding with the museum’s 100th anniversary.

Exhibitions

The Tampa Museum of Art’s exhibition program is characterized by a dynamic rotation of exhibitions that draw from both its permanent collection and new acquisitions.

Current exhibitions include Avant Garde: Remarkable Women in the Permanent Collection, which features recent additions to the collection with works by Selina Román, Ya La’Ford, Nneka Jones, Wendy Babcox, and Lorraine Genovar—all artists with roots in the Tampa Bay area; Here and Now: Selections from the Contemporary Collection, which highlights key holdings and new acquisitions of contemporary art in the Tampa Museum of Art’s permanent collection; and Jun Kaneko: Silence Before Sound, which celebrates the Tampa Museum of Art’s recent acquisition of Jun Kaneko’s monumental sculpture Untitled (Dango).

In 2024, Tampa Museum of Art opened its first-ever immersive, multi-channel video exhibition in the renovated Bronson Thayer Gallery. The inaugural exhibition, titled Jennifer Steinkamp: Madame Curie, seamlessly projected the artist’s work from floor to ceiling on all four walls, surrounding visitors in a sea of flowers.

To read more about the Museum’s exhibitions, please visit: TMA Exhibitions.

Our Client

The Tampa Bay Region is booming. Increasing population, community development, and fast-growing markets demand for more exhibition, education, special events and sustainability programming from the Tampa Museum of Art. To meet those needs, the Museum has renovated and is expanding its existing building. This transformational project will ensure a lasting cultural presence in the region.

The Tampa Museum of Art’s transformative renovation and expansion plans for its downtown Tampa campus enhances the visitor experience and public access, more than triples its education and exhibition spaces, increases the museum’s sustainability and income generation abilities, and completes a cultural landmark for the City.

In 2023, the Museum completed its 25,000 square foot renovation of existing space which included the addition of seven new gallery spaces, enhanced visibility on the first floor, a redesigned lobby and store, and an 8,000 SF Vinik Family Education Center. When completed, the future expansion will add a crystalline, four-story structure to the waterfront adding approximately 51,000 square feet of programmable space along the Hillsborough River that includes a complete site redevelopment of the surrounding area.

In 2022, the Tampa Museum of Art announced it received a landmark $25 million donation from Dick Corbett as the lead donation to the Museum’s Centennial Capital Campaign for Renovation and Expansion. Also in 2022, the Museum opened the doors to the brand new Vinik Family Education Center, the first completed portion of the Tampa Museum of Art’s renovation project. The Center was named in honor of a $5 million gift made by Jeff and Penny Vinik to the Museum’s $100 million Centennial Campaign for Renovation and Expansion.

To learn more about the campaign, renovation, and expansion, please visit: Centennial Renovation and Expansion

The Role

The Penny and Jeff Vinik Executive Director reports to the Board of Trustees and, in robust collaboration with the Board and team, will be responsible for setting and articulating a compelling vision and strategy for the Museum’s next chapter.

The Executive Director is charged with internal leadership of the Museum, including programmatic strategy, operational and financial health, and management of the team. They also play the primary role in representing the Museum externally to a wide variety of constituents and serve as the public face and spokesperson of the organization. The Executive Director serves as TMA’s principal fundraiser and forges strong external partnerships and collaborations.

Additionally, the Executive Director will play a key role as a community leader in Tampa. They will elevate the Museum’s presence locally, regionally, nationally, and beyond.

Key Responsibilities

• Sets the overall strategic vision for the Museum, guiding long-term planning, institutional priorities, and goal development.
• Leads high-level decision-making and drives execution of key initiatives that advance the Museum’s mission, strengthen organizational vitality, ensure financial stewardship, expand audiences, and identify opportunities for continued growth and impact.
• Serves as the Museum’s primary public representative, elevating its profile and building relationships with leaders across the local community, region, and national cultural landscape.
• Partners with senior leadership and the Board to lead fundraising efforts, cultivating support from individual donors, foundations, corporations, and other stakeholders, while advancing strategic partnerships and collaborations.
• Provides galvanizing leadership for the team, fostering an inclusive, high-performing organizational culture; recruits, develops, and retains talent while modeling integrity, authenticity, and humility.
• Ensures the organization is appropriately structured and resourced, with clear accountability and the capacity needed to support effective operations and adapt to evolving institutional needs.
• Works closely with the Board Chair and Board of Trustees to support effective governance, leveraging Trustees’ expertise and maintaining regular, collaborative communication.
• Oversees the Museum’s long-term sustainability by strengthening operational systems and financial management, while making decisions thoughtfully, efficiently, and with transparency.

Candidate Profile

The next Executive Director will be an inspiring, strategic, and collaborative leader who brings a deep commitment to the Museum’s mission and to the Tampa community.

They will be energized by the opportunity to build on the Museum’s strong foundation while advancing its visibility, impact, and long-term sustainability. The Executive Director will bring a thoughtful and forward-looking perspective on the evolving role of museums in society, along with a demonstrated ability to lead organizations through times of growth and change.

They will bring an orientation towards risk-taking balanced by a strong sense of fiscal responsibility. They will identify opportunities to diversify revenue streams, engage visitors, and ensure the Museum has the necessary infrastructure to achieve ambitious goals. Highly committed to results, they will ensure the successful completion of the Museum’s Centennial Campaign and Expansion. As the Museum’s primary spokesperson and chief fundraiser, they will increase support for the institution through a wide variety of sources, including individual donors, institutional funders, strategic partners, and others.

Strategic Leadership

The ideal candidate will possess the skills to partner with the Board and lead the team as they enter the Museum’s next chapter. This will include bringing creative ideas to broaden and increase engagement with the Museum, as well as anticipating the ever-changing landscape in which the Museum operates and altering the strategy accordingly, as needed. Ideally, the candidate will bring experience leading major capital projects or through other significant change. They will be a creative thinker who develops innovative strategies, particularly around revenue growth and diversification, audience engagement, and community relations. They will bring an orientation towards risk-taking balanced with fiscal responsibility and will be willing to seek data from a variety of sources to support decision-making.

Influence and Relationship Building Skills

The ideal candidate will be able to build and leverage relationships with internal and external constituents, including staff, donors, partner organizations, government leaders, and others. They will be a dynamic, energetic communicator who can influence others to action and successfully engage with individuals from all walks of life. They will also navigate complex stakeholder environments and governance dynamics with clarity and steadiness.

Fundraising & Resource Development

As the Museum’s principal fundraiser, the Executive Director will be able to communicate a compelling institutional vision that inspires confidence and mobilizes support at the highest levels. They must be able to build productive and collaborative relationships with individual donors, corporations, foundations, government leaders, and more. Ideally, they will bring experience with capital campaigns and/or have a track record of leading major growth in fundraising. They will also demonstrate ability to partner with a Board in fundraising endeavors and further nurture a culture of philanthropy across the institution.

Team Leadership

The ideal candidate will bring the ability to retain, empower, and recruit an exceptional, collaborative, and ambitious team. They will bring experience allocating talent resources across a growing organization and will be able to ensure the Museum has the appropriate infrastructure to accomplish lofty goals. They will foster a culture of collaboration and interdepartmental goal setting. They will bring decisiveness in setting priorities, ability to delegate responsibilities and assure accountability, and a focus on resource allocation that ensures results and drives impact.

Executing for Results

The Executive Director will oversee the Museum’s operational and financial performance, ensuring strong fiscal management, efficient systems, and effective allocation of resources. The ideal candidate must bring a high level of business acumen and ability to align day-to-day operations with broader institutional goals and long-term sustainability. They will translate strategic priorities into clear, executable plans, driving accountability and measurable results across the organization. They will ensure that internal structures, processes, and teams are optimized to support performance, adaptability, and sustained growth.

Mission Alignment

The ideal candidate must demonstrate a strong belief in the Museum’s role as a vital cultural and educational resource, engaging audiences through meaningful encounters with art across time. They must embrace stewardship of the collection while advancing a forward-looking vision that connects historical works with contemporary perspectives. In alignment with TMA’s mission, they will ensure the Museum is a welcoming space where visitors, artists, and staff feel connected, inspired, and valued. Additionally, they must recognize and value the Museum’s role in the Tampa Community, nurturing its role as a cultural anchor of the city.

Contact and Compensation

The Museum’s goal is to compensate for this position at a competitive level. The estimated base salary is expected to be in the range of approximately $325-400K. That said, the final salary and total compensation of the candidate selected for this role will take into consideration various factors, including, but not limited to, scope of role, level of experience, stature in the industry, professional accomplishments, internal equity, the organization’s budget and will be subject to Fair Market Value evaluation. In addition to salary, the selected candidate will be eligible to participate in the Museum’s standard benefit package. Additional details regarding benefits are available upon request. The approximate range listed is a good faith determination of potential base compensation as a component of the total compensation for the role at the time of this job advertisement and may be modified in the future.

Russell Reynolds Associates has been exclusively engaged to lead this search. Given the need for confidentiality throughout this process, prospective candidates are invited to reach out directly to our search consultants at TMAExecutiveDirector@russellreynolds.com with a resume and brief explanation of interest.

We welcome nominations and expressions of interest to the Russell Reynolds team. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.

Olivia Stam

Russell Reynolds Associates

2001 K St NW

Washington, DC 20006

Katherine Armstrong

Russell Reynolds Associates

One Post Office Square

Boston, MA 02109-2196