Detroit (December 20, 2021) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) today announced that Anne Parsons, the organization’s President and CEO for the past 17 years, will become President Emeritus, and current Vice President and General Manager Erik Rönmark will become President and CEO, both effective immediately.
The DSO had previously announced on December 8 that Rönmark would succeed Parsons on March 7, 2022. Parsons spoke with the DSO Board of Directors and determined moving up the timeline was best so she could focus on her health. Parsons shared her cancer diagnosis in November 2018 and has been undergoing treatments since that time.
“Anne’s leadership has put the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a position of artistic, financial, and organizational strength, and we are so grateful to her,” said Rönmark. “While this transition comes a bit earlier than planned, we are prepared and remain committed to our core values of excellence, collaboration, diversity, innovation, and resilience—principles that Anne instilled at the DSO. With outstanding board and staff leadership in place, including Board Chair Mark Davidoff and Vice Presidents Jill Elder and Linda Lutz, we will continue to build upon all that Anne has accomplished for the DSO.”
“Anne is a true leader who has led the DSO with grace and vision, and we celebrate her accomplishments,” said Davidoff. “The board’s selection of Erik as Anne’s successor ensures stability across the DSO at this important moment in our history. The DSO family is supporting Anne and her family at this time and stands with Erik and his team.”
Parsons has successfully guided the DSO through local and national economic downturns and the current global pandemic, all while greatly improving the orchestra’s financial outlook and growing the audience and donor base, which has resulted in nine consecutive operating surpluses from 2013 to 2021. She was also responsible for helping bring two new music directors, Leonard Slatkin and Jader Bignamini, to Detroit and returning the orchestra to national and international prominence through touring and webcasts. Plans for the DSO to celebrate Parsons’ tenure as President and CEO will be shared in the future.