Revs Institute, located in Naples, Florida, is seeking an accomplished and visionary leader with a global perspective to become its Chief Executive Officer. The position entails building Revs Institute into the global thought leader and resource for the historical automobile community. The CEO will lead an entrepreneurial team as a trusted thought partner alongside a visionary Founder, a skilled governing Board, expert staff, and a committed volunteer cadre. The CEO will develop and oversee the institution’s strategic direction and implement the operating plan through exemplary leadership.

Revs Institute

Revs Institute is much more than a car museum—it is a place to view society through a different lens. Located in an 80,000 square-foot facility, Revs is a working research and educational institution dedicated to the study, celebration, exhibition, preservation, conservation, and restoration of historically significant automobiles. The organization has an annual operating budget of $6.7 million with an endowment of $80 million, and currently employs 29 staff and has more than 120 active volunteers.

Revs Institute houses one of the greatest automobile collections in the world. The collection of more than 130 automobiles meets rigorous standards for historic importance, as well as technical, aesthetic, or social significance. All the cars are operational and are presented to the public in the galleries and around the world at events where they are driven and even raced in competition.

Revs Institute has six operating centers:

Revs Institute Museum exhibits its permanent collection in four themed galleries: Automobility: The Car and the Road; Vitesse: The High Technology Automobile; Revs: The Racing Car; and Porsche: Evolution from 1948 to 1971. Revs Institute’s visitors come from all 50 U.S. states and around the world. Most international visitors are Canadian and Western European. The museum enjoys a regular flow of major collectors, historical automobile industry VIPs, writers, and historians. The collection is interpreted for visitors by highly trained and expert docents. Tripadvisor reports that the two-hour docent tours are “a must.”

Revs Institute Library and Archives has the mission to be the most useful automotive research facility in the world. To that end, work is continuously underway, adding new materials, improving cataloging and metadata, and facilitating access to these collections.

Holdings consist of more than 26,000 books, including most of the English language automobile bibliography in existence. Periodicals represent one of the collection’s strongest holdings, with complete runs and many publications starting before 1900. Automobilia and related ephemera constitute another archive of 130 collections. The library holds about 1.5 million photographs, of which 700,000 are searchable online at the Revs Digital Library. There is also an extensive film library of archival footage.

Revs Institute Library and Archives is planning to form consortia with other research libraries to leverage its scope and breadth.

CH Motorcars is Revs Institute’s subsidiary established to manage the automobiles in the holdings. CH Motorcars is populated with expert conservators, technicians, and support staff.

Collier AutoMedia is the Institute’s publishing imprint. The function of this entity is to produce and disseminate both digital and print materials to increase awareness of Revs Institute globally, publish historical interpretive matter, practical information, and thought leadership material to general and specialist audiences and consumers.

RevsEd is a for-profit educational outreach program owned by Revs Institute designed for adult recreational learners. Students are introduced to working with their hands in the material world through learning the fundamentals of operation and maintenance of the “old school” automobile. Designed as a series of fee-based programs that not only educate and entertain, but also build community and affiliation with Revs Institute, these classes are proving highly popular.

Revs Symposia is a biennial conference for the world’s leading collectors. Offering insights into problems and opportunities in collecting, curation, conservation, operation, and appreciation of important automobiles, Revs Institute has been offering symposia since 2000 to great acclaim. Leading collectors from around the globe experience 3.5 days of learning, sharing experiences, and networking, facilitated by leading historians, professionals, and experts. The symposia are fee-based programs that contribute materially to Revs Institute's operating budget.

The Opportunity

This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced nonprofit executive. An important aspect of the CEO’s work will be to expand the global reputation and influence of Revs Institute. To achieve this, the CEO will have the opportunity to develop meaningful programs and partnerships, expand the organization’s digital footprint, and position Revs as the significant resource for the historical automobile community.

Additionally, two new initiatives are being explored by Revs Institute’s Board that make this an outstanding time for the incoming CEO to offer an important contribution to Revs Institute and take it to the next level of success:

• Relocation to a new, expanded campus, either for Revs Institute’s exclusive use or as part of a campus-based automotive community with facilities for restoration companies, dealers, collector storage and activity centers, spaces for automotive gatherings and events, hotels and hospitality.
• Pursuing accreditation through the American Alliance of Museums.

Compensation

The salary range is $395,000 – $450,000 commensurate with experience, plus an attractive benefits package. H-1B or O-1 U.S. work visa eligibility will be a consideration for international applicants.

How to Apply

To apply in confidence, submit application by July 10, 2023, to: Dan Yaeger, Senior Search Consultant, Museum Search & Reference, via SearchandRef@museum-search.com.

Please include:

• A cover letter expressing interest in the position and giving brief examples of past related experience
• A résumé
• The names and contact information for three references, indicating their relationship with the candidate

Applicants are encouraged to apply early as candidates will be considered on a rolling basis. Nominations are welcome. All applications and nominations are kept confidential; we will not contact references without your permission. For more details, visit: www.museum-search.com/open-searches.

Responsibilities, and Expectations

Revs Institute seeks a CEO whose background includes proven effectiveness as a senior executive in a nonprofit environment at institutions such as museums, libraries, higher-education administration, research institutions, or other similar mission-driven organizations. The successful candidate will demonstrate a track record of accomplishment as a strategic thinker, social innovator, scholar, systems thinker, team builder, fundraiser, and charismatic leader able to translate their vision into action.

• Assume overall executive responsibility for Revs Institute, its affiliates and subsidiaries, its programs, exhibitions, and operations.
• Develop a trusting and effective relationship with the Founder, the Board, and other principal stakeholders to turn vision into sustainable reality.
• Build high-functioning executive and management teams that display creativity, collaboration, and excellence.
• Develop meaningful partnerships with stakeholders in the historical automobile arena.
• Create and sustain effective governance structures, strategic planning processes, policies and practices that lead to AAM accreditation by working with the Board to assess, recommend, and implement policy initiatives and other steps.
• Create, expand, and nurture an exceptional team of staff members and volunteers that aligns with the organization’s mission, vision, and values.
• Facilitate a compelling vision and strategy; address organizational growth, set priorities and metrics. Allocate resources to achieve performance goals and expectations.
• Support the organization’s commitment to organizational thought leadership, best practices leadership, conservation, restoration, archaeology, and related essential disciplines.
• Serve as Revs Institute’s primary spokesperson, representing the organization at events, in the media, and by cultivating key relationships locally regionally, nationally, and globally. This outreach includes appeals to individual, corporate, private, and public funders and supporters across the globe.
• Provide leadership and entrepreneurial support to the planned Revs Institute expansion of facilities; strategically plan and execute a successful capital campaign to support the planned move within the decade.
• Work with the Board to provide budgetary and financial oversight, accountability, and sustainability, including endowment, earned revenue streams, and manage external revenue sources.
• Serve as liaison with the office of the Founder to ensure effective collaboration.

Experience, Skills, and Attributes

• A minimum of 10 years of executive leadership experience, at least five of which were in nonprofit environments, preferably at a museum, collection, university, or research institution.
• Success working with major donors, foundations, and sponsors, preferably with an organizational founder.
• Strategic-planning skills, as well as pragmatic organizational project management.
• Success in building and nurturing dynamic teams of staff and volunteers to implement complex systems relating to assets such as collections, exhibitions, and programs.
• Outstanding communication skills.
• Financial acumen capable of running a facility of the size and complexity of Revs Institute. Ability to oversee the development and management of the budget of a complex and layered group of institutions. Has the ability to interpret financial statements and articulate performance.
• Meaningful experience in general oversight of effective IT plans and programs. Preferably conversant in the use of technology and digital media in promoting an institution, reaching online audiences, and creating exhibitions and programs.
• Emotional intelligence and people-oriented leadership skills that serve the institution’s internal and external stakeholders.
• BA required, MA or PhD in relevant field or an MBA desired.
• A track record of successfully stewarding public/private partnerships in a variety of organizational environments is a plus.
• Experience with an accreditation process desired, and knowledge of AAM standards and practices is a plus.