Former Met CEO Daniel H. Weiss to Lead Philadelphia Art Museum

The Philadelphia Art Museum (PAM) announced on Friday that former Metropolitan Museum of Art chief Daniel H. Weiss will take on the role of director and CEO. The announcement comes less than three weeks after the dismissal of Sasha Suda, who had led PAM since 2022.

Weiss will join the institution from December to provide ‘stability for staff, stakeholders, and the community’, according to a museum statement, with a tenure extending through to 2028.

In the statement, PAM board chair Ellen Caplan lauded ‘Dan’s proven track record of museum leadership, his deep understanding of the field, and his ability to navigate complex institutional challenges’.

Weiss is no stranger to steering museums through scandal. From 2017 to 2023, he led the Metropolitan Museum of Art as president and CEO following director Thomas Campbell’s resignation amid a surging financial deficit and controversial rebrand, and later allegations of a relationship with a staff member.

The day before Weiss’ appointment was announced, the museum filed its response in Pennsylvania state court to a wrongful termination lawsuit brought forward by Suda shortly after her dismissal, stating that ‘Suda misappropriated funds from the Museum and lied to cover up her theft’. Suda has requested a trial by jury, while the museum has requested to resolve the dispute out of court.

The lawsuit sheds new light on her dismissal, with the museum claiming that she had awarded herself unauthorised pay increases. The board had previously stated that she was terminated for ‘cause’ in the notice sent to Suda on the morning of 4 November.

Suda accused the museum of firing her ‘when her efforts to modernise the museum clashed with a small, corrupt, and unethical faction of the Board intent on preserving the status quo’. Suda’s court filing portrays a museum ‘in crisis’ and a ‘coup’ led by Caplan, followed by ‘a new vilification strategy’ around Suda’s expenses and compensation.

Suda’s dismissal came shortly after PAM’s unpopular rebrand and name change from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Weiss, who was previously a governance consultant to the museum, is named in Suda’s 29-page complaint, with Caplan ‘falsely claim[ing]’ that Weiss had said that Suda was indeed ‘underperforming’, but Weiss later admitting to Suda on a phone call that the museum’s board was ‘very dysfunctional’. —[O]

Main image: Philadelphia Art Museum. Courtesy PAM. Photo: Rob Cusick.