Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Appoint Ed Prohaska as Chief Financial Officer

Sep 7, 2016

Photograph portrait of man wearing blue suit.

Photo courtesy of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

SAN FRANCISCO (September 7, 2016)—The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are pleased to announce the appointment of Ed Prohaska as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Prohaska’s appointment follows a five month search led by a recruiting firm based in San Francisco.

“With Ed Prohaska we have found the best possible CFO with which to move forward,” says Max Hollein, Director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “Ed has deep roots in the financial management of nonprofits and will be a valued partner, operationally and strategically, as we further develop our great institution’s reputation. I know he will set the highest standards of financial control and planning for the Fine Arts Museums.” 

Mr. Prohaska joins the museums from the Monterey Bay Aquarium where he served as Chief Financial Officer for the past fourteen years and V.P. of Enterprise Development for the past nine years. At the Aquarium, he oversaw a $78 million operating budget and a $190 million investment portfolio. In addition to accounting and finance he also oversaw IT and property management and was the liaison to outside attorneys. Previously he also oversaw facility operations, sales and merchandising operations. Mr. Prohaska has extensive experience working with nonprofit boards, most recently serving as the Chair of the Finance Committee for the boards of both KQED and the California Association of Museums.

Before joining the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Mr. Prohaska worked in Los Angeles as the Chief Financial Officer and later Chief Operating Officer at the Japanese American National Museum from 1997 through 2002. Prior to that, he was the Director of Finance and Administration at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena from 1994 to 1997, and at the Newport Harbor Art Museum from 1993 to 1994. Mr. Prohaska began his career in corporate banking and public accounting, during which time he became a C.P.A. He received his B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration from the University of Kansas, and both his MBA in Finance and an M.A. in History from the University of Texas at Austin.

“While I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the incredible team at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, my passion has always been in the arts,” says Ed Prohaska. “The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are among the world’s best museums, with a proud history of collecting, scholarship and exhibitions. To fully achieve its promise, the institution must be top of class in every aspect of its operation and I am thrilled to join Max and his talented team to lead that effort on the finance front.”

Mr. Prohaska will begin his tenure at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco on October 10, 2016.

About the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, are the largest public arts institution in San Francisco.

The Legion of Honor was inspired by the French pavilion at San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 and, like that structure, was modeled after the neoclassical Palais de la Légion d’Honneur, in Paris. The museum, designed by George Applegarth, opened in 1924 on a bluff in Lincoln Park overlooking the Golden Gate. Its holdings span 4,000 years and include European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; ancient art from the Mediterranean basin; and the largest collection of works on paper in the American West.

The de Young originated from the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park and was established as the Memorial Museum in 1895. It was later renamed in honor of Michael H. de Young, who spearheaded its creation. The present copper-clad landmark building, designed by Herzog and de Meuron, opened in October 2005. It holds the institution’s significant collections of American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts from the 17th to the 21st centuries; art from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas; costume and textile arts; and international modern and contemporary art.

Media Contact
Miriam Newcomer \ mnewcomer@famsf.org \ 415.750.3554