Jeff Yabuki Appointed Chair of Milwaukee Art Museum Board of Trustees

– Milwaukee Business and Civic Leader to lead the Board of Trustees. – 

Milwaukee, Wis. – October 28, 2021 – The Milwaukee Art Museum has announced that Jeff Yabuki has been unanimously elected as Chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees effective on October 29, 2021.   

Yabuki has been a Museum Trustee since 2007 and a member of the Executive Committee since 2018. In addition to his critical leadership as a Trustee, Yabuki is a founding member of the Museum Visionaries, which was established in 2019. 

The Visionaries—the leading philanthropic circle of the Milwaukee Art Museum—support the artistic accomplishments of the Museum through annual sponsorship of exhibitions, as well as the programs that connect exhibitions with the community. This significant and steadfast level of support ensures the Museum’s financial sustainability as it establishes a cohesive artistic perspective and aspires to ever more ambitious heights in programmatic excellence.  

“Jeff is a dynamic, bold and strategic thinker, and we are delighted that he has agreed to serve as Chair of the Board of Trustees,” said Marcelle Polednik, PhD, Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director. “His experience as a business and civic leader, together with his passion for ensuring the Museum is a resource for the entire community, will be invaluable as we work toward shaping this next chapter.” 

Yabuki is the Chairman of Motive Partners, a specialist private equity firm focused on growth equity and buyout investments globally in software and information services companies. Previously he served as CEO of Fiserv, a leading global provider of payments and fintech solutions headquartered in the Milwaukee area, from 2005 to June 2020, and also served as its Executive Chairman from 2019 to 2020. 
 
“The Milwaukee Art Museum is both a treasure and an icon for Milwaukee, and it is an honor to serve in this leadership capacity,” said Jeff Yabuki. “I’m excited to work with our Management and Trustees in this time of change and digital transformation. The combination of the architectural innovation of Santiago Calatrava, along with our incredible collection of art, provides a powerful platform to energize our community.” 
 
Previous Board President Joel Quadracci, who served from 2018 through the end of his term this year, will remain on the Board as Immediate Past Chair and stay closely connected to the Museum’s activities.  

About the Milwaukee Art Museum 

The Milwaukee Art Museum welcomes people from throughout the community and the world to find themselves and lose themselves in art, creativity and culture. At any one time, visitors can experience over 2,500 works on view within the Museum’s collection galleries and three ever-changing exhibition spaces; participate in engaging programming; and explore the one-of-a-kind spaces across the 24-acre lakefront campus. The iconic architecture brings together structures designed by Eero Saarinen, David Kahler and Santiago Calatrava. Famous for its moving Burke Brise Soleil, the Museum serves as a symbol for Milwaukee pride and connects the shores of Lake Michigan to the city’s bustling downtown. 

###