Kimmel Center Elects Paul A. Tufano to Succeed Roland K. Bullard, II. as Chairman
JUNE 28, 2010
On Thursday, June 24, 2010, the Board of Directors of Kimmel Center, Inc. elected Paul A. Tufano as Chairman of the Kimmel’s Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2011. The SVP, General Counsel and Chief Government Business Executive of Independence Blue Cross Family of Companies, succeeds Roland K. Bullard, II. President, Fast Ship, Inc. Paul Tufano has been an active member of the Kimmel Center Board since 1998, serving on the Executive Committee and chairing the Government Relations Committee.
“I was deeply impressed by Paul’s leadership as Chair of the Search Committee which brought me to the Kimmel Center and to Philadelphia. I look forward to working with Paul as we continue to strengthen the Kimmel Center’s role as a catalyst for creativity and collaboration” said Anne Ewers, President and CEO of the Kimmel Center.
When asked, Paul Tufano stated, "I am honored and humbled to follow in the footsteps of such people as Sam McCullough, Bill Rouse, Dan Whelan, Bill Hankowsky and Roland Bullard, who played instrumental roles in bringing the vision of the Kimmel Center to life and guiding it through its early years. For a relatively young organization, the Kimmel Center is playing an important role in the cultural fabric of our region, and in the vitality of our wonderful Resident Companies. I look forward to working with my fellow Board members and the talented Kimmel Center team to ensure the Kimmel Center’s continued success.”
“We are most appreciative to Roland Bullard for his service as Chair. His leadership as we have sought to restructure the Kimmel Center for the benefit of our Resident Companies has been of great value,” said Ms. Ewers.
Roland K. Bullard, II.
Roland K. Bullard, II has been an active member of the Kimmel Center Board since 2001. Mr. Bullard is the President and CEO of Fast Ship, Inc., in Philadelphia, Pa., and joined the company in June 1998. He was a founding partner of Strategic Advisors International, Inc. in 1996, while Chairman of the Philadelphia Advisory Board of Directors of First Union National Bank. From January 1996 to his retirement in May 1996, he was Area President of the Philadelphia region. Prior to the acquisition of First Fidelity Bancorporation (FFB) by First Union in January 1996, Mr. Bullard was Senior Executive Vice President and Director of FFB. In May 1991, Mr. Bullard was named President of Fidelity Bank, NA, which was renamed First Fidelity Bank NA, Pennsylvania, in 1993. Prior to joining First Fidelity in 1991, Mr. Bullard was Vice Chairman of CoreStates, Philadelphia National Bank.
Paul A. Tufano
Paul A. Tufano is SVP, General Counsel and Chief Government Business Executive of Independence Blue Cross, a full-service health insurance corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Independence Blue Cross is the Philadelphia region’s largest heath insurer. Prior to joining Independence Blue Cross, Mr. Tufano served as General Counsel of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, from January 1995 until November 1999. Mr. Tufano and a staff of over 500 attorneys represented Governor Tom Ridge, all 22 Executive Branch agencies, as well as 10 independent agencies in litigation, transactions, and regulatory, legislative and criminal justice matters. He was a member of the Governor’s Cabinet and the Governor’s Senior Staff.
In addition to serving on the Board of the Kimmel Center, Mr. Tufano serves as a trustee of Villanova University, WHYY, and the Committee of Seventy. He is a former Board Member of the Avenue of the Arts, Inc. He is the immediate past President of the Villanova University Alumni Association. He is a former Trustee of Penn State University, Franklin & Marshall College, Moore College of Art & Design, and is the past Chairman of the Board of the Philadelphia Shipyard Development Corporation.
Mr. Tufano has received the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s President’s Award (1998) and its Pro Bono Award (1998). He appears in Who’s Who in American Law, 6th Edition. He received the Justinian Foundation’s Professional Achievement Award (1998), and the St. Thomas of Villanova Medal from Villanova University (2001). He was honored by the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (2003) for his contributions to the Arts. He is a graduate of Villanova University, where he earned both his bachelor’s degree and law degree.
Also we are pleased to announce was the recent appointment of several new members to the Kimmel Center’s Board of Directors. They include:
Chris Bruner was named Managing Partner of the Philadelphia office of Ernst & Young, LLP on July 1, 2008. Bruner was raised in Indianapolis and followed in the footsteps of his father, a partner at predecessor firm Ernst & Whinney. In 1999, he was asked to move to McLean, where a thriving technology corridor helped him expand his mid-market clientele. After the technology market crashed, Bruner headed up Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Conference from 2002 to 2005. In March 2005, the firm relocated him to Philadelphia, where he was asked to lead the middle-market clientele for the mid-Atlantic region that includes McLean, Baltimore, Richmond and Washington. Chris serves on the boards of both the Mann Center for the Performing Arts and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.
The institution’s third president since it attained university status in 1987, Sean T. Buffington, 40, began his tenure at The University of the Arts on August 15, 2007. A native of La Plata, Maryland, Buffington graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and American literature and Afro-American studies. A Regents Fellow, Buffington earned a Master of Arts degree in American culture from the University of Michigan in 1994. While serving as an instructor at Michigan, Buffington developed and taught interdisciplinary undergraduate courses in history and ethnic studies. Prior to relocating from Boston to Philadelphia, Buffington served on the boards of the Passim Music Center, The Open Gate Foundation and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP). He remains a member of the board of BMOP and serves on the Philadelphia Art Commission, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce's College and University President's Council, and on the boards of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.
Robert E. Colton joined Citibank in February 2007 as Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of the Philadelphia Commercial Bank Group. Prior to joining Citibank, Mr. Colton was Executive Vice President of Wachovia’s Commercial Banking Group in Philadelphia. Bob is a former Board member of The Caring People Alliance, The Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, The Mid-Atlantic Better Business Bureau, The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Small Business Board, and the Leadership Committee of the Philadelphia Zoo. Bob Co-Chairs Citibank’s Philadelphia Leadership Council which focuses on financial education and the preservation and revitalization of primarily low and moderate income neighborhoods in cooperation with Citi Global Community Relations and Citi Foundation. Mr. Colton received his MBA in Finance from Seton Hall University and graduated from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University. He completed his undergraduate degree in Economics at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Michael “Mike” George was named president of QVC, Inc., in November 2005 and CEO in April 2006. In this position, he is responsible for overseeing QVC and QVC.com, as well as QVC International, which includes operations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and, launching in 2010, Italy. Under George's leadership, QVC has become a premier lifestyle brand and shopping destination. Reaching more than 180 million homes worldwide, QVC is now one of the world’s largest multimedia retailers. George is a member of the Corporate Council for the National Constitution Center. He served on the Payless ShoeSource Board of Directors from 2003 to 2006. George earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and his master’s degree in finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Sueyun Locks has been the director of the Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, since 1987. Locks Gallery is a vital venue for the exhibition of art by living, Philadelphia and nationally known artists. Mrs. Locks is a member of the Mayor’s Cultural Advisory Council. She is a board member of the Curtis Institute of Music, PennDesign at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of the Arts, and Pennsylvania Hospital.
As a trustee of the Locks Foundation, Ms. Locks has endowed fellowships and contemporary art initiatives in the region’s leading arts schools and institutions including: PennDesign at the University of Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Moore College of Art, Princeton Art Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, Curtis Institute of Music, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. She received her BFA from Seoul National University, Korea and an MFA from Boston University, Massachusetts.
F. John White serves as Chief Executive Officer of Public Financial Management and member of its Board of Directors. He is responsible for the overall daily management of the firm. Mr. White chairs the PFM Management Committee, the primary policy-making body in the firm. In his role, Mr. White has coordinated PFM’s growth in personnel, technology advances, and business practice expansion. Prior to joining PFM in 1980, Mr. White held policy-making positions in various aspects of local, state and federal governments. He served as Deputy to the then District Attorney Edward G. Rendell of Philadelphia and as Regional Representative in the Pennsylvania Department of Commerce. He spent five years handling administrative and legislative matters for then Congressman William Green, serving on the House Ways and Means Committee. In 1979, Mr. White served as Director of the Transition Staff when Mr. Green was elected Mayor of Philadelphia. He was also involved with the transition of Mr. Rendell when he was first elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002.
The Board also elected the following slate of officers: Catherine R. Clifton, Harold A. Honickman, and John G. Drosdick as Vice-Chairs, George M. Ross as Treasurer, and William Petersen as Secretary.
Board members concluding their service on the Board are Valerie Ferguson and the Honorable Constance H. Williams.
Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, provides a rich diversity of programming through its Kimmel Center Presents sponsored by Citi and the Broadway series of performances, as well as arts in education and community outreach. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music together serve as home to eight Resident Company performing arts organizations including: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, PHILADANCO, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. Kimmel Center, Inc. owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, which is owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association and the University of the Arts Merriam Theater.
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