AT&T Performing Arts Center’s CEO, Mark Nerenhausen, Has Resigned Effective Pronto

The release just sent by the AT&T PAC folks announcing the sudden and surprise resignation of Mark Nerenhausen, who was named president and chief executive officer for the then-Dallas Center for the Performing Arts on December 4, 2008, doesn’t say what led to the decision this morning. Though it’s “effective immediately,” Nerenhausen, say PR reps, isn’t available to talk — but Howard Hallam, chair of the AT&T Performing Arts Center Board of Directors, will talk to Unfair Park later this afternoon, or so we’ve been promised.

This is all Nerenhausen says in the release that follows:

“I came to Dallas to work with the remarkable team opening the new
performing arts center, and I am proud of what we have accomplished. I’m
glad to have had the opportunity to have been here at such a significant
time in AT&T PAC’s development as an institution.”

Doug Curtis, the AT&T PAC’s senior veep and general manager, is the interim CEO. Says the release, “a national search is underway for Nerenhausen’s successor.” If you’ll recall Dallas Theater Center’s Managing Director Mark Hadley announced last month he’s leaving … in September.

AT&T Performing Arts Center President and CEO Mark Nerenhausen Resigns

Dallas, TX – July 26, 2010 – AT&T Performing Arts Center announced today
that it has accepted the resignation of President and CEO Mark Nerenhausen,
effective immediately. Doug Curtis, the AT&T PAC’s Senior Vice President
and General Manager, has been named interim CEO. A national search is
underway for Nerenhausen’s successor.

“The AT&T Performing Arts Center has gone through incredible growth and
change over the past two years, and Mark provided invaluable leadership for
us at a critical time,” said Howard Hallam, Chair of the AT&T Performing
Arts Center Board of Directors. “We are grateful for Mark’s hard work during
the launch of our new institution, and we wish him all the best in his
future endeavors.”

“I came to Dallas to work with the remarkable team opening the new
performing arts center, and I am proud of what we have accomplished. I’m
glad to have had the opportunity to have been here at such a significant
time in AT&T PAC¹s development as an institution,” said Mark Nerenhausen.

The AT&T Performing Arts Center opened in October 2009 to critical acclaim
from arts and architecture critics around the world. The $354 million
campaign to build the Center was a decade-long project spearheaded by
private citizens within the community and funded with more than 95 percent
of the capital funds raised through private sources. Since the grand opening
in October, the Center has played a vital role in the community through its
diverse programming, educational activities and as a catalyst for further
development in the downtown Dallas Arts District.