This morning, the GAM Board of Directors announced that after the selection process it has appointed Alejandra Martí Olbrich as the new Executive Director. With 19 years of experience in cultural management, the outstanding professional, who until now served as Executive Director of the Association of Latin American Theaters: Ópera Latinoamérica, OLA, will take office on March 12.
Martí arrives at the Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center, GAM, when it prepares the celebration of its 15th anniversary and the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the poet's Nobel Prize. Among its challenges will be implementing a management model to consolidate the work done so far and complete the construction of the Second Stage.
The manager was elected unanimously by the members of the Board of Directors who make up: Claudia Barattini Contreras, president; Daniel Cruz Valenzuela, treasurer and representative of the University of Chile; Jaime Soto Barba, secretary and who represents the Rector of the University of Concepción; and the board of directors: Verónica Barahona Díaz, Executive Secretary of the Corporation of Friends of the Maule Regional Theater; Regina Rodríguez Covarrubias, representative of the Palacio La Moneda Cultural Center; Pablo Aranda Rojas, executive director of FOJI; Sebastián Gray Avnis, representative of the cultural, artistic and heritage sector; and Ilonka Palocz Sandoval, president of the Mapocho Station Cultural Corporation.
“We are very satisfied with the selection process and the result. We needed to find a profile with great internal and external leadership capacity, with management skills and an innovative outlook to face the great challenge of completing the Gabriela Mistral Cultural Complex. Choosing was not an easy task. We had many excellent candidates, but Alejandra unanimously convinced the entire Board of Directors with her experience and innovative vision.””
— Claudia Barattini, president of the GAM Board of Directors.
The selection process began last October through the headhunting company, HK Human Capital, which received more than 200 applicants. More than 10 years of experience, leadership capacity, management for economic sustainability and fundraising, among other requirements, were part of the recruitment process.
Professional profile
The career of the new Executive Director of GAM has been marked by the management of important projects and innovation, standing out for her restless, creative and collaborative spirit.
Of Spanish-Chilean nationality, after graduating in 2004 he began his career in theater management at the Gran Teatro del Liceo in Barcelona. Returning to Chile, she worked for 11 years at the Municipal Theater of Santiago: first as manager of New Projects and then as Director of Institutional Development. There he stood out for setting up new areas, leading the Small Municipal project and creating an online and streaming catalog to reach regional theaters with children's works, among others.
In 2017, he assumed the executive direction of Ópera Latinoamérica, OLA, a network that brings together theaters, companies and festivals from Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting the arts of representation. His management in this last entity gave him a technological seal, with a strong emphasis on the digitization of different artistic contents, managing to amplify their reach and making them accessible to different audiences.
Work experience
NOM FESTIVAL
Co-founder of the New Opera and Music Festival developed together with 21 organizations from all over Chile.
MARKETPLACE SCENE
Co-founder of the first online platform for marketing already released opera and ballet productions, and a catalog of Latin American artists.
LATIN AMERICAN OPERA, Ibero-American Theater Network
Executive Director
Direction and coordination of the Association of Ibero-American Opera Theatres. Among them, Teatro Colón, Bellas Artes de México, Teatro Argentino de la Plata, Teatro Municipal de Río de Janeiro, Opera de Colombia, Teatro Real de Madrid, Liceo de Barcelona, among many others.
MUNICIPAL THEATER OF SANTIAGO, Chile
Director of Institutional Development
MUNICIPAL THEATER OF SANTIAGO, Chile
Development Manager
OPEN OPERA, Chile
Transmission Project of the Gran Teatro del Liceo de BCN 2006-2007. Implementation of the University of Chile project.
GRAN TEATRE DEL LICEU FOUNDATION. Barcelona, Spain
Human Resources Department. Deputy HR Director