Doral-based Florida Grand Opera has announced appointment of its new General Director and CEO, Susan T. Danis, an established arts advocate and leader with a proven track record of fiscal growth, Danis, Executive Director of Sarasota Opera since 1999, is scheduled to take the position as the company’s fourth General Director effective Oct. 9.
“Susan is a phenomenal choice to lead FGO. She has the unique combination of being a successful opera producer, manager and development expert,” remarked Victor H. Mendelson, President of FGO’s Board of Directors.
Anticipating the planned retirement of Robert M. Heuer, the company’s CEO of 27 years, the Board embarked on an international search for his replacement by an appointed Search Committee. Applicants were narrowed to four semifinalists and two finalists who underwent intensive meetings with board members and key staff. FGO’s CEO search was funded by a grant from the Knight Foundation.
During her tenure in Sarasota, the company’s operating budget more than doubled, growing from $3.2 million to over $8 million. Meeting fundraising goals earned her the Florida Trust for Historic Preservations Award for Outstanding Achievement in Restoration in 2010.
Danis holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in International Marketing from the University of Hartford Paris Program where she learned French, and a Bachelor of Science from Indiana University.
