New York Philharmonic Adds New Members to Board of Directors and International Advisory Board

By: Sep. 01, 2016
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Six leaders in the business, medical, education, and philanthropic communities have been elected as new members of the Board of Directors of the New York Philharmonic, and five global leaders have joined the New York Philharmonic International Advisory Board (IAB), established in the fall of 2014 to support the Philharmonic's activities abroad, including the New York Philharmonic Global Academy.

The new members of the Philharmonic Board are Dr. Kathryn Beal, a radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, elected in March 2016; Arthur Chu, a managing partner of QVT Financial LP, elected in May 2016; Sarah Jane Gibbons, the Chair of Young New Yorkers for the New York Philharmonic and a New York City-based educator, elected in January 2016; Donald J. Heberle, the CEO of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, elected in May 2016; Yasushi Takahashi, the president and CEO of Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., elected in May 2016; and Dr. Thomas F. Widmann, a German-born cardiologist and a co-founder of Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc., elected in May 2016.

The new members of the International Advisory Board are Bernard Attali, senior advisor at TPG (France); Jinqing Caroline Cai, Christie's managing director, China (China); Kaaren Hale, author and watercolorist (United Kingdom); Steven Jensen, founding partner at Direct Management Group (United States); Eric X. Li, founder and managing director of Chengwei Capital (China); Leon Ramakers, former CEO of Mojo Concerts (Netherlands); Caspar Seemann, managing director of Hartz, Regehr & Partner GmbH and vice president of Vatican City's International Festival of Sacred Music and Art (Germany); and Tony Tan Caktiong, founder and chairman of Jollibee Foods Corporation (Philippines).

"I am so pleased to welcome these leaders to the New York Philharmonic's Board of Directors and International Advisory Board," said Philharmonic Chairman Oscar S. Schafer. "Their professionalism as well as love of music, the arts, the New York Philharmonic, and New York City will be a valuable asset as we embark on our 175th anniversary season and beyond."

New Members of the Board of Directors of the New York Philharmonic
Dr. Kathryn Beal is a radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and specializes in treating patients with both primary and metastatic brain tumors. She conducts clinical research and is the principal investigator of several studies primarily focused on stereotactic radiosurgery and immunotherapy. She earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard and her medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Beal and her husband, Bruce A. Beal, Jr., are active in supporting education, the arts, medical research, and hospitals through their family foundation. Mr. Beal is the president of the Related Companies, a real-estate development company based in New York City. Together, they have three young children who all enjoy playing instruments through the Suzuki method at the Diller Quaile music school.

Arthur Chu is a managing partner of QVT Financial LP, a multi-strategy hedge fund management company. He has been with the firm since its founding in 2003 and is a member of its investment committee. He was previously a member of the QVT group at Deutsche Bank and a research analyst at Lehman Brothers. Mr. Chu earned undergraduate and master's degrees in physics from Harvard University, where he was a National Science Foundation scholar. He serves on the board of trustees of his secondary school in New Mexico. Arthur and his wife, Jariya Wanapun, are active in supporting a variety of educational and community initiatives, including through their family foundation. Ms. Wanapun earned degrees in social studies from Harvard University and in interior design from FIT. She previously worked in interior design and publishing, and is co-chair of community service at The Spence School.

Sarah Jane Gibbons is an enthusiastic supporter of the arts. A member of the Young New Yorkers for the Philharmonic for more than ten years, she is also an American friend of the Salzburg Easter Festival; has been affiliated with the Notables at Carnegie Hall and the Young Associates at The Metropolitan Opera; and is a founding member of Park Avenue Armory Avant-Garde. Ms. Gibbons also supports education and health care: she founded the Young Friends of the Hospital for Special Surgery and serves on the President's Council of the Children's Scholarship Fund. Educated at The Chapin School, Princeton University, King's College London, and Teachers College, Columbia University, Ms. Gibbons is an educator in a New York City public school, currently serving as the college advisor at Millennium Brooklyn High School in Park Slope. She lives with her husband, Trevor, and their son in Greenwich Village.

Donald J. Heberle is CEO of BNY Mellon Wealth Management. Before his appointment in July 2015, Mr. Heberle served as executive director of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, with responsibility for wealth strategy and international wealth management. His oversight responsibilities in this role included the organization's International Wealth Management business, Family Wealth Advisory and Wealth and Estate Strategist groups, and client service delivery strategy. Mr. Heberle received a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard College and a master of business administration in finance and accounting from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the BNY Mellon Investment Management Executive Committee, and also serves on the BNY Mellon Operating Committee and as president of BNY Mellon Pennsylvania. A former president of the Harvard Club of Western Pennsylvania, Mr. Heberle is chairman of the BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Yasushi Takahashi, president and CEO of Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., concurrently serves as COO of the Americas Business Unit and as senior executive managing officer of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Mitsui USA's parent company in Tokyo. Prior to his April 2016 appointment in New York, Mr. Takahashi was based in Melbourne, Australia, where he was chairman and CEO of Mitsui & Co. (Australia) Ltd. and chairman, Mitsui & Co. (N.Z.), Ltd. Mr. Takahashi joined Mitsui & Co. in 1981 after graduating from Keio University's Faculty of Law. He has since built his career principally in the company's mineral and metal resources businesses. From 2011 to 2013 he was COO of the Mineral & Metal Resources Business Unit. Throughout his career, Mr. Takahashi has held various overseas posts: Mitsui & Co. UK Plc (1987-88); assistant general manager of the Mitsui USA Ferrous Raw Materials Dept. (1993-98); and SVP and general manager Ferrous Raw Metals and Non-Ferrous Metals Division (2006-07). From 2008 to 2010 he was chief administrative officer of the Mitsui Americas Business Unit. In addition, he completed the Program for Global Leadership at Harvard Business School. Mr. Takahashi plays an active role in various civic organizations in the New York area, including the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York, Nippon Club, Japanese Educational Institute of New York, Japan Society, Partnership for New York City, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, International House, and Weissman Center for International Business at Baruch College.

Dr. Thomas F. Widmann was born in Germany and educated at Heidelberg and Paris in medicine and computer science with further training in cardiology at the University Hospital in Geneva. Dr. Widmann later spent seven years at the University of California, San Diego, as assistant professor of medicine and cardiovascular associate. During his nine years at F. Hoffmann-La Roche, he was responsible for the worldwide clinical development of the company's cardiovascular portfolio. As co-founder of Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc., Europe's largest bio-pharmaceutical company, he was the company's first CEO. Dr. Widmann continues to serve on various Actelion boards worldwide, including in Switzerland, Japan, and China. He divides his time between Switzerland and New York and is married to Allyson Tang, founder of the Angel Shine Foundation for Children and the Arts, a global philanthropic nonprofit established in New York. Dr. Widmann serves as a board member of the Foundation, which is dedicated to identifying and assisting gifted, underserved young talent by awarding scholarships and supporting arts programs worldwide.

New Members of the New York Philharmonic International Advisory Board
Bernard Attali has been senior advisor at TPG since 2003. He has served as CFO of Club Med, CEO of Datar (in charge of regional development for France, attached to the Prime Minister), chairman of EEC Committees in Brussels, chairman and CEO of Groupe des assurances nationales, chairman and CEO of Air France, chairman of the executive committee of International Air Transport Association, chairman of Bankers Trust France, vice chairman for Deutsche Bank Europe, and a member of the European advisory board of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He has also been a member of the boards of SNCF, Crédit Industriel et Commercial, Banque Nationale de Paris, Société Générale, Scor, Méridien Hotel, Air Inter, La Poste, Sabena, and CSA Aerospatiale, among others, and founded Amadeus GRS. He currently serves on the boards of International Power PLC (Engie Group) and SFR Numéricable. Bernard Attali is honorary chairman of Air France Group, Conseiller maitre à la Cour des Comptes, Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur, and Commandeur de l'Ordre National du Mérite. He is a graduate of France's Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Paris) and Ecole Nationale d'Administration. He is also the author of books on management and politics.

Jinqing Caroline Cai was appointed by Christie's to the post of managing director, China, in June 2012. In her position, Ms. Cai leads Christie's presence in China, taking an active role in promoting international exposure of Chinese art, advising clients globally on the Chinese marketplace, and supporting participation in cooperative programs between China and other countries. She leads the branch from the Shanghai location, and in 2014, under Ms. Cai's guidance, Christie's opened a new building for galleries and offices close to The Bund, a tourist district. She joined Christie's from Brunswick Group, a leading global public relations firm, in 2005 as the founding partner in Beijing, and she was instrumental in developing Brunswick's industry-leading capabilities in public affairs and executing strategic communication programs for international clients operating in China, as well as for Chinese companies managing cross-border projects, such as mergers and acquisitions. She began her career in New York with a boutique management consulting company before returning to Asia to join K1, a venture capital firm as a director in China investments. She then returned to her hometown of Beijing to manage the first annual Davos-like Boao Forum for Asia, which involved working with government, corporate, and media organizations. Her success in this endeavor led to her setting up a public relations company called New Alliance, before joining Brunswick Group. Ms. Cai studied chemistry at Beijing University from 1986 to 1989, and earned a degree at Wellesley College, where she studied arts, chemistry, and economics. In 1993 she received a master's degree from Princeton University in public affairs, economics, and public policy. In January 2015 Ms. Cai was named to Foreign Policy magazine's Pacific Power Index, a list of 50 people shaping the future of the U.S.-China relationship.

Kaaren Hale, a co-author of the book Fashion After Fifty, is a watercolorist who has exhibited her work in the U.K. and in the U.S. Based in London, Ms. Hale is a patron of the Royal Opera House and other British institutions, including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Academy of Music, the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs. She also supports a number of museums and organizations in New York and Nantucket. A lifelong music enthusiast, Ms. Hale enjoys both opera and orchestral works. She is married to investment company executive Charles Hale, a former chairman of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette International.

As a founding partner at Direct Management Group, Steven Jensen has utilized his years of experience as a university concert promoter, talent booking agent, and personal music manager to realize his clients' full potential. After almost five decades in the contemporary music business, artists such as Katy Perry, k.d. lang, and Adam Lambert have benefited from Mr. Jensen's acumen as a thoughtful and intelligent career strategist, planner, and negotiator. Direct Management is based in Los Angeles, and Mr. Jensen resides with his husband, Mark Grace, on Vashon Island, Washington, and in Mill Valley, California.

Eric X. Li is the founder and managing director of Chengwei Capital, a venture capital firm based in Shanghai specializing in start-ups in the communication software, niche component manufacturing, health care, and media sectors. Mr. Li received his Ph.D. in political science from Fudan University, his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and his B.A. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. His writings on comparative political governance and international relations have been widely published in leading publications such as The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Financial Times, andThe Huffington Post. He serves on the board of directors of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai and is vice chairman of the CEIBS Publishing Group. Mr. Li also serves on the board of CEIBS Ghana, the school's branch in Africa. He is chairman of Chunqiu Institute in Shanghai, a senior fellow at Fudan University's Center for China Model Development Research, and a former Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. Mr. Li also serves on the board of governors of the San Francisco Symphony and on the board of trustees of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive at the University of California, Berkeley.

Originally with his partner Berry Visser and later as CEO and majority shareholder, Leon Ramakers made Mojo Concerts into the leading concert promoter in the Netherlands. He has promoted the Rolling Stones, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, and Michael Jackson, among others. When the founder of the North Sea Jazz Festival passed away, Mr. Ramakers continued the legacy of one of the biggest jazz festivals in Europe. In 1993 he founded the Lowlands Festival. In 1999 Mojo Concerts was sold to SFX, which later became LiveNation. Mr. Ramakers stepped down as CEO in 2004, but still works for the company.

Caspar Seemann is managing director of Hartz, Regehr & Partner GmbH, one of the leading asset management firms in Germany. He has been with the firm since 1991. From 1988 to 1991 he was with Thurn & Taxis Vermögenstreuhand GmbH, and, before that, he worked at Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt, from 1980 to 1982. A native of Freiburg/Breisgau, Germany, he passed his First State Exam at Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg in 1976, and his Second State Exam at Hamburg in 1979. Among his charitable activities, Mr. Seemann is vice president of Vatican City's International Festival of Sacred Music and Art; serves as a board member of the A.P.I. Children and Youth Foundation in Hamburg; is on the advisory boards of the German Foundation of Musical Life in Hamburg, the Bamberg Symphony, and the DKFZ German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg; and is a member of the Order of St. John. His late father, Professor Carl Friedrich Seemann, was a renowned pianist.

Tony Tan Caktiong is the founder and chairman of Jollibee Foods Corporation, one of the largest restaurant companies in Asia. The company has expanded its global presence to more than 3,000 stores worldwide, with locations in Asia, the Middle East, and the U.S. A native of the Philippines, Mr. Tan Caktiong earned a B.S. degree, with a major in chemical engineering, at the University of Santo Tomas in 1975. In addition, he has attended business courses and seminars at Harvard and the Asian Institute of Management. Mr. Tan Caktiong is a director of First Gen Corporation and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company. In the philanthropic sphere, he serves on the boards of Temasek Foundation, St. Luke's Medical Hospital, and the Jollibee Group Foundation. Among other activities, he is the Philippine representative to the APEC Business Advisory Council.



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