Fort Greene

BAM announces Adam E. Max as chairman of the board of trustees

Max succeeds longtime BAM chair Alan H. Fishman

October 25, 2016 From the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Adam Max
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Katy Clark, president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), has announced the election of Adam E. Max as chairman of BAM’s board of trustees, effective January 2017. Max joined the board in 2003 and has served as vice chairman since 2008.

A managing partner at private equity firm The Jordan Company, Max also serves on the board of St. Ann’s Warehouse. Max succeeds Alan H. Fishman, who joined the board in 1987 and became its chair in 2002.

Fishman, the chairman of Ladder Capital Finance, provided leadership through key periods in BAM’s recent history, including the expansion of BAM’s campus to include a third venue, the BAM Fisher, as well as its current capital projects, the BAM Strong and BAM Karen. Fishman drove an increase in contributed income to BAM and he also served as a founding board member of the BAM Endowment Trust. His longstanding association with Brooklyn nonprofit organizations includes roles as chairman of the Brooklyn Community Foundation and former chair of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. Fishman has been integral to the development of the burgeoning Brooklyn Cultural District and is a trustee of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, an organization he co-founded.

“We have been so fortunate to have Alan Fishman as our chair during an exciting renaissance period for Brooklyn,” said Clark. “His leadership, persistence, passion, guidance and great generosity have been invaluable in a period of growth for BAM and for the borough, and we have become a stronger organization because of Alan’s dedication.

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“The vitality of Brooklyn owes much to his vision and great heart,” Clark continued. “I would also very much like to acknowledge Judith Fishman’s great contributions to BAM and her essential roles in New York cultural organizations, as both former chair of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and current trustee of the Mark Morris Dance Group.”

Max was instrumental to BAM’s growth as chair of the Next Stage Campaign. He chaired the search committee for BAM’s current president and stewarded that leadership transition.

“BAM is a leading arts institution in New York City, but so much more,” said Max. “It’s an economic engine for its community and an ambassador for Brooklyn and the world. The only hesitation I have in chairing this great organization is having to follow in Alan Fishman’s footsteps.”

“Riding on the wings of great artistic and cultural leaders, Harvey Lichtenstein, Karen Hopkins, Joe Melillo and now Katy Clark has been a true pleasure,” Fishman said. “BAM has made great progress in that time and the future is unlimited. To have seen an array of great artists and performances over more than 30 years has been a rare privilege for Judy and me, one we will always cherish. I only hope Adam has as much fun as I have had.”

To acknowledge Alan Fishman’s many years of service to BAM, a gala dinner has been planned for April 4, 2017, followed by special performances in the Howard Gilman Opera House.

With Vice Chairman William I. Campbell retaining his current position, Max and Campbell will continue to build on the relationship and shared vision formed with Fishman over the past eight years of their joint leadership.


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