Henry Timms, the co-founder of #GivingTuesday, will leave his post as executive director of 92Y to become the next president and CEO of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
Timms will be the 11th president and CEO of Lincoln Center when he takes over in early May 2019. Acting President Russell Granet will work with Board Chairwoman Katherine Farley and senior management on the transition.
Timms will continue as co-chair of 92Y’s Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact and in guiding #GivingTuesday, the annual day dedicated to philanthropy on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, following Black Friday and Cyber Monday. An estimated $380 million was raised for charities in the United States on that day in 2018 — eclipsing $1 billion since its inception in 2012 — and mobilized millions of people in more than 60 countries.
92Y also is in the midst of the largest capital campaign in its 144-history. The organization so far has raised $160 million toward its $180-million goal, which went public in May with $145 million.
“Henry is a trailblazing leader of the highest caliber. His combination of collegiality, digital savvy and transformational thinking will be an enormous asset as we develop exciting new projects, and bring the well-known excellence of the arts at Lincoln Center to the broadest possible audience,” Farley said. “Henry’s signature style is collaboration, complemented by innovation, ingenuity and enthusiasm, which will serve him well as he works closely with all of our constituent arts organizations,” she said in a press release announcing the appointment.
Timms was 92Y’s deputy executive director for innovation, strategy and content before being elevated to executive director in April 2014, following an investigation the previous summer that resulted in four firings, including then-Executive Director Sol Adler.
92Y is considerable smaller than Lincoln Center, reporting total revenue of $75 million for the year ending 2017, according to the most recent tax form available. Timms earned total compensation that year of $449,248, including base compensation of $428,319. By comparison, Lincoln Center, which also is home to Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic and New York City Ballet, reported revenue of $162 million in the same year.
The organization has gone through several chief executives since Reynold Levy left in 2014 after more than a decade at the helm. Its previous president, Jed Bernstein, served through April 2016 and reported total compensation of $1.085 million, including $722,186 classified as “other reportable compensation,” $100,000 in bonus/incentive compensation, and $252,323 in base compensation for the partial year. Deborah Spar, former president of Barnard College, briefly served as CEO before Bernstein.
Timms is a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, a Hauser Visiting Leader at Harvard Kennedy School and a senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation. He holds a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Durham. He also is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (RSA) and serves on the board of Independent Sector.
Timms has been recognized on The NonProfit Times’ Power & Influence Top 50 four times: 2014, 2015, 2016, and most recently in 2018. His book, “New Power: How Power Works in the 21st Century — and How You Can Make It Work For You,” with Jeremy Heimans, was named a 2018 Book of the Year by Bloomberg, Inc., Fortune and the Financial Times.
Prior to 92Y, Timms served as international director of the Louise Blouin Foundation in London, developing cultural programs around the world.