Ravinia President and CEO Well Kauffman announced Oct. 19 that he will depart the festival upon completing his 20th anniversary year at its helm, following the 2020 season and the opening of the RaviniaMusicBox experience center.
“After much reflection, I’ve decided that this milestone anniversary would be the right time to make way for someone new to shape the festival’s future,” Kauffman said in a press release. “My goals were to give our board ample time to find that right person, and to oversee the inaugural decades occurred in just a minute, and I have other interests I’d like to pursue—maybe even a summer vacation.”
Only the third full-time professional leader of Ravinia—following Edward Gordon (1974-1989) and Zarin Mehta (1990-2000)—Kauffman drove major investment into Ravinia’s infrastructure, including the forthcoming experience center, which he had been planning for 10 years.
An interview with Kauffman about the past season is at http://windycitytimes.com/lgbt/MUSIC-Ravinia-CEO-Welz-Kauffman-on-upcoming-season-/65899.html.