Richard P. Kiphart, chairman of the board and a longtime member of the executive committee of Lyric Opera of Chicago, has been named Lyric’s interim president and CEO. He will serve until Lyric’s annual meeting and the conclusion of its fiscal year in June, the company announced Wednesday.
A Lyric board member since 1998, Kiphart replaces the late Lyric president and CEO Kenneth G. Pigott, another longtime board member, who died Friday.
Kiphart is familiar with the job, having succeeded Allan B. Muchin as the company’s chief executive and board president in May 2006, before Pigott took over in 2011.
Kiphart has worked for the Chicago-based investment firm of William Blair & Co. since 1965 and currently sits on the firm’s executive committee. His wife Susan is president of Lyric’s professional artist development program, the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. The Kipharts live in Chicago.
