consultants and Advisors
David Mallette
David Mallette
President Emeritus
David Mallette (he/him) joined Management Consultants for the Arts in 2005 after working for more than two decades as a performing arts administrator in theater and dance. His background and skills bring together a blend of organizational leadership, production experience, creative innovation and business acumen. He became a partner in 2016, then President in 2020, transitioning to President Emeritus in 2026.
During his tenure with MCA, he has conducted more than 200 searches, including American Conservatory Theater, Guthrie Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, University of Maryland / Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Geffen Playhouse, McCarter Theatre Center, Signature Theatre (Arlington VA), Virginia Tech / Moss Center for the Arts, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Georgia Tech / Ferst Center for the Arts, Ballet Arizona, Kansas City Ballet, and Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Planning, organizational development and research project clients include Broadway Dallas (previously Dallas Summer Musicals), Rockport Music, Barter Theatre, Milwaukee Ballet, Texas Christian University School of Dance, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. His service organization clients include Theatre Development Fund, OperaAmerica, Theatre Communications Group, Dance/USA, and Theatre Forward.
David’s professional arts management experience began at Houston’s Alley Theatre where he was Director of Operations. He then joined Houston Ballet as Company Manager, where he was extensively involved in new productions and touring. Subsequently, David joined Fort Worth Ballet as Executive Director. During his 15-year tenure, Fort Worth Ballet quadrupled in size through its strategic expansion across the region and state, rebranding as Fort Worth Dallas Ballet and then as Texas Ballet Theater. He shepherded the Ballet into one of the few companies with a successful two-city base. The Company also performed extensively across the nation, including the Lyric Auditorium in Chicago, City Center and The Joyce Theatre in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., as well as touring to over forty Texas communities.
His consultation experience has included work with large performing arts institutions, festivals, national & regional service organizations, and foundations. David has been a frequent speaker, author, and consultant in areas of organizational leadership and vision, crisis strategies, governance, and non-profit management. In addition to his professional demands, Mr. Mallette’s volunteer service to the field and to the community has included serving on numerous boards and panels, including as Chair of Dance/USA (2002-05), with previous terms as treasurer and vice-chair. He has also advised and/or served as trustee on numerous non-profit boards and panels, including Chair of the Texas Commission on the Arts Dance Panel, the Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative, Heinz Endowments, and the Mid-American Arts Alliance. David has served as guest lecturer for Columbia University, Brown University, University of Cincinnati, Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University, Mercer University, Yale University, and Bolz Center for Arts Administration at University of Wisconsin Madison. He currently serves on the board of directors of Dance Data Project and McCarter Theatre Center.
David is a frequent speaker and author on performing arts leadership. He and his wife Catherine reside near Princeton NJ. They have three grown children and two perfect grandchildren.
