Ballet chief announces retirement
Glenn McCoy, the savvy money man who greatly bolstered the financial standing of the San Francisco Ballet during a 16-year tenure as executive director, will retire at the end of the 2019 season, he informed the Ballet’s board of trustees on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
“My contract is up next June, and the board and staff is at work on a new five-year plan,” McCoy, 60, said Tuesday during a phone interview. “I’ve been here for 31 years, which is unheard of, and I really thought it was time to step aside.”
McCoy joined the company in 1987 and has risen through the positions of company manager, general manager, managing director and finally executive director, the top administrative position, which he has held since
2002. During that time, he has been the nuts-and-bolts man overseeing production of 130 new ballets and more than 50 tours, both here and abroad.
“San Francisco Ballet owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Glenn,” Carl Pascarella, chair of the board of trustees, said in a statement.
When McCoy became executive director in 2002, the Ballet had hit a budget shortfall, with the 9/11 attacks still fresh and a punishing recession up ahead. McCoy saw what was coming and trimmed both the number of players in the Ballet Orchestra and number of dancers on the roster, while whacking the administrative staff 10 percent.
Since then, the operating budget has grown from $30 million to $53 million. The endowment has grown from $43 million to $127 million.
“Under his leadership, the company is organizationally stronger than ever and just finished its best year financially and artistically in its 85-year history,” Pascarella said.
McCoy grew up in New Bern, N.C., and once told The Chronicle that his only exposure to dance was “watching the Miss America pageant on TV.” He graduated from Appalachian State University and followed his dream of becoming an actor to New York City. He found work in the marketing department at the Metropolitan Opera, which led to a marketing job with the San Francisco Opera. He was only with the Opera for a short time before being picked off by the Ballet. He started there shortly after Helgi Tomasson succeeded Michael Smuin as artistic director. In that sense, they built the company together.
In a statement, Tomasson said of McCoy, “His talent for financial and operational management has enabled me to focus on the company’s repertory and provided the freedom to implement my artistic vision for the Ballet.”
McCoy said a search committee will be formed to find his successor. He is confident in the management team he has built. “I wake up every day still excited about Helgi’s vision,” he said.
When Pascarella asked McCoy what he planned to do next, McCoy had his answer ready: “Grow tomatoes.” McCoy and his partner, Michael Manning, recently closed on a home near the historic square in Sonoma. They plan to relocate at the end of the Ballet season.
“I just turned 60 and I need new stuff in my life,” McCoy said, “and I wanted to go out on a high note.”