David Mallette | President
David Mallette joined Management Consultants for the Arts in 2005 after working for more than two decades as a performing arts administrator in theater and dance. His background and skills bring together a unique blend of organizational leadership, production experience, creative innovation and business acumen. He became MCA’s President in 2020.
At MCA, he has conducted searches for American Conservatory Theater, Guthrie Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at University of Maryland, Geffen Playhouse, McCarter Theatre Center, Signature Theatre (Arlington VA), Virginia Tech / Moss Center for the Arts, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Georgia Tech / Ferst Center for the Arts, Ballet Arizona, Kansas City Ballet, and Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Planning, organizational development and research project clients include Broadway Dallas (previously Dallas Summer Musicals), Rockport Music, Dance/USA, Barter Theatre, Milwaukee Ballet, Texas Christian University School of Dance, Minnesota Dance Theatre and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
Mr. Mallette’s professional arts management experience began at Houston’s Alley Theatre where he was Director of Operations. He joined Houston Ballet as Company Manager, where he was extensively involved in new productions and touring. Mr. Mallette was then asked to join Fort Worth Ballet as Executive Director. During his 15-year tenure, Fort Worth Ballet quadrupled in size through its expansion across the region and state, first as Fort Worth Dallas Ballet and then as Texas Ballet Theater. The Company also performed extensively across the nation, including at the Lyric Auditorium in Chicago, City Center and The Joyce Theatre in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., as well as touring to over forty Texas communities.
His consultation experience has included work with large performing arts institutions, service organizations, and foundations as well as smaller institutions, individual artists, and festivals. Mr. Mallette has been a frequent speaker, author, and consultant in areas of organizational leadership and vision, crisis strategies, governance, and non-profit management. In addition to his professional demands, Mr. Mallette’s volunteer service to the field and to the community has included serving on numerous boards and panels, most significantly as chair of Dance/USA (2002-05), the national service organization for professional dance, with previous terms as treasurer and vice-chair. He has also advised and/or served as trustee on numerous non-profit boards and panels, including the Texas Commission on the Arts dance panel (as chair), the Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative, and the Mid-American Arts Alliance. He holds degrees in music and music education from Hardin-Simmons University.
Mr. Mallette is a frequent speaker and author on performing arts leadership. He and his wife Catherine reside near Princeton NJ.