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Add Texture to GoogleIn Los Angeles, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has just brought a more than one-year-long search to a close. On September 24, 2026, the California-based institution officially announced the appointment of Jonathan Abbott as President, CEO, and Director of the Maurice Marciano Museum. This appointment, the result of an exhaustive international search conducted by the board of directors, marks a strategic turning point for the museum. By entrusting the reins to a leading figure in American public media, MOCA is opting for proven expertise in managing complex organizations and developing resources as it approaches its 50th anniversary.
A Public Media Executive
Jonathan Abbott joins MOCA with a career spanning more than thirty years in public broadcasting. His career is inextricably linked to GBH, the flagship public media organization based in Boston, which he led as president and CEO for fifteen years, from 2007 to the end of 2022. Before rising to the top of the organization, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. His tenure at GBH left a profound financial and structural impact: under his leadership, the organization’s assets grew from $225 million to approximately $1 billion. This financial strength was accompanied by a notable ability to engage donors, as demonstrated by a fundraising campaign that raised $215 million.
This senior executive, who earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University, stands out in the typical landscape of museum leadership, which often consists of individuals from within the curatorial ranks. His experience also includes stints at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and KQED in California. Upon taking office at MOCA—effective September 24, 2026, according to the museum’s official announcement, though some schedules list September 26, 2026— he brings a culture of leading large teams, having supervised nearly 800 employees in Boston with an annual budget of $225 million.
A Reorganized Leadership Structure for a New Era
Jonathan Abbott’s arrival stabilizes a leadership structure that has undergone significant changes in recent months. He succeeds Ann Goldstein, who had been serving as interim director since August 2025. Goldstein had taken over day-to-day management following Johanna Burton’s departure in July 2025. Appointed in 2021, Johanna Burton left California to become director of the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the University of Pennsylvania. Under this new structure, Ann Goldstein is not leaving the institution but is transitioning to an advisory role to the new executive director.
MOCA’s leadership now rests with a triumvirate with distinct areas of expertise. Alongside Jonathan Abbott, Carolyn Clark Powers serves as chair of the board of directors. The purely artistic and scholarly aspects remain under the responsibility of Clara Kim, chief curator and director of curatorial affairs. This separation of roles between executive management, institutional development, and curatorial vision appears to be the museum’s response to the challenges of growth and outreach it faces as the decade draws to a close.
The Issue of Institutional Stability
For the Los Angeles art community, Abbott’s appointment is being viewed through the lens of continuity. MOCA’s recent history has been marked by a certain degree of volatility at the top. Jonathan Abbott is thus the sixth director to take the helm of the institution since 2008. Some industry observers put that number at seven if interim leadership periods are included. This frequent turnover has often been cited as a sign of the institution’s difficulty in ensuring long-term governance stability.
The term ahead is certainly significant. MOCA is already looking ahead to 2029, the year it will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Founded in 1979, the institution must prepare for this major event in terms of both its programming and its financial health. The contractual details of Jonathan Abbott’s appointment—including his compensation and the exact duration of his term—have not been officially disclosed. However, the new director’s stature and his track record in asset development suggest the board of directors’ commitment to building a foundation of sustainable resources for the museum’s next fifty years.
Abbott’s expertise in the media sector, his network, and his mastery of key public and private funding sources are major assets for navigating the cultural ecosystem of Los Angeles. His ability to transform a media organization into a billion-dollar entity in Boston will undoubtedly serve as the benchmark for his success at the helm of MOCA. As contemporary art demands ever-greater resources to fulfill its curatorial ambitions, the choice of an expert in institutional strategy over a pure art historian confirms a fundamental trend among major international museum institutions.