Peter Herrndorf on becoming CEO of the National Arts Centre
Channel: Canada's Theatre Museum
Date: 2017-03-16

Peter Hernndorf talks about becoming CEO of the National Arts Centre, how the NAC was described as being on “death row” when he started, and how he made it his mission to recruit folks who could become champions of a new wave of creativity. Part 2 of 10.

Peter A. Herrndorf, C.C., O. Ont., one of Canada’s greatest cultural leaders, was the NAC’s visionary former President and CEO from 1999 to 2018.

For nearly 19 years, Herrndorf led Canada’s largest performing arts centre during a period of extraordinary growth and the expansion of the NAC’s national role. Among the many accomplishments during his tenure, he was instrumental in establishing the National Arts Centre Foundation, NAC Indigenous Theatre. With Brian Robertson, he created the Governor General Performing Arts Awards in 1992. He served as Chair of Canadian Stage and the Stratford Festival. At the time of his passing, he was Chair of the Luminato Festival. His many awards and honours include 10 honorary degrees, and a special Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (2018).

After graduating in 1962 from the University of Manitoba in Political Science and English, Peter Herrndorf received a law degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax in 1965, and earned his Master’s Degree in Administration at the Harvard Business School in 1970.  He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University in 1989, from the University of Winnipeg in 1993, from Dalhousie University in 2000, from Carleton University in 2004, and from the University of Manitoba and Brock University in 2006.

Interviewed by R.H. Thomson on December 5, 2014 in Ottawa. 
Filming location courtesy of the National Arts Centre.

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