OCMA CEO Departs for North Carolina Museum
By Peter J. Brennan
Todd Smith
Todd DeShields Smith is leaving as chief executive of the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) to take on a similar position at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina.
This is a return to the South-East for Smith who held chief executive and curatorial positions there earlier in his career.
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During his six-year tenure, Smith oversaw major initiatives including the sale of the former OCMA site in Newport Beach, the museum's move to a temporary location in Santa Ana under the refreshed "OCMAEXPAND" branding, the design of its new, award-winning 53,000 sq. ft. building currently under construction at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and the raising of substantial funding for the new OCMA home.
"Todd has done a wonderful job guiding OCMA through this period of significant change to realize our vision of building a new museum," Craig W. Wells, chairman of the OCMA Board of Trustees, said in a statement.
The OCMA Board of Trustees has formed a search committee and engaged an executive recruitment firm to conduct the search for the museum's next CEO. OCMA Deputy Director Sarah Jesse is currently the Interim CEO.