New President and CEO onboard October 17
The San Diego Aerospace
Museum's Board of Directors has named William R. Lennartz to
succeed Ken Curtis as the Museum's President and CEO after an
exhaustive but successful search. Lennartz, a resident of Rancho
Santa Fe, was most recently the co-founder, President & CEO of
California Linear Devices, Inc. (CDL), a manufacturer of linear
motors worldwide.
"Bill Lennartz has an outstanding background as an entrepreneur
who has successfully managed and led a series of technical
companies. He also was active in the management of the 1984 Los
Angeles Olympics," Museum Board chairman Richard H. Petersen said.
"The Board of Directors has recently completed a strategic plan
entitled '2013: AN AEROSPACE ODYSSEY.' We are excited to have
Lennartz's leadership and passion as we implement our plans and
maintain the San Diego Aerospace Museum's reputation as one of the
premier aerospace museums in the country."
The Museum's Search Committee, chaired by Board Vice-Chairman
Adm. Pat Moneymaker, USN (Ret.), received nearly fifty
applications. After a meticulous review process, the Search
Committee narrowed the slate to four candidates before selecting
Lennartz. The Executive Committee of the Board approved their
selection, and Lennartz has accepted the position.
Lennartz has founded or led several profitable companies that
later merged with other internationally known giants such as
Emerson Electric Company and the Memorex Corporation.
In 1991, Lennartz became President and CEO of Hixson Metal
Finishing in Newport Beach, CA to help a friend suffering from
cancer. The company was rudderless and losing money but Lennartz
turned the company into a profitable one with $6.5 million in
revenues and later turned the company over to a management team for
the owner.
Lennartz will succeed Ken Curtis, the Museum's first President
& CEO, who is retiring at the end of October. Under Curtis'
leadership, the Museum introduced some of the most significant
additions to its public exhibits, most notably the Command Module
from the 1969 Apollo 9 mission, and an RQ-1 Predator – one of
only three on display in the world and the only one the west
coast.
Curtis, a retired Navy Captain and helicopter pilot, served on
the Museum's Board of Directors from 1999 until June 2005. His
previous business experience in the private sector was as the Chief
Operating Officer for Primary Provider Management Company, a
company he led during a financial turnaround. Curtis took on the
role as the Museum's first CEO in October 2003 to accomplish the
same for the financially ailing Balboa Park institution.