"Der RosenChE":
Former Mobil Exec Goes from Oil to Opera

New York--When The Washington Opera was seeking a new executive director, it ended up finding one in what might seem an unlikely place-the petroleum industry. In July, 2000, chemical engineer Walter Arnheim, former treasurer of Mobil Corporation, took over the reigns at the company, which just a month earlier was given the designation of "National Opera" by an act of the U.S. Congress.

The opportunity to start a brand new career, after 31 years with Mobil, arose for Arnheim at the age of 55, just at the time when Mobil was merging with Exxon. "I could have stayed at the merged company," he told New York Times reporter Irvin Molotsky in an article that ran on January 6, 2000. "But, the chance to move from one world-class organization to another is thrilling," particularly for a self-confessed opera buff. Previously he had served the Opera as a trustee representing Mobil, which was the company's chief corporate sponsor, and on its Executive Committee.

The selection of a for-profit executive to lead a non-profit organization is no longer that rare. As Philip Kennicott, a staff writer for the Washington Post noted in a December 30, 1999, article announcing Arnheim's move to The Washington Opera staff, his appointment, "which brings serious expertise from the for-profit business world," is "part of a growing trend among nonprofits, and particularly nonprofit arts groups." In that article, Arnheim himself cites the appointment of Lawrence Small, formerly the number two executive at Fannie Mae, as the new head of the Smithsonian Institution, as another example of this trend.

A World of ExperienceA native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a chemical engineering graduate of the University of Pittsburgh who later received an M.B.A. in operations research and finance from Columbia University, Arnheim began his Mobil career in 1968 in operations research, "developing sophisticated mathematical models to solve business problems." His career track was business-oriented from the very beginning. "Over the years, I have worked with a lot of cash flows, but never any fluid flows as a chemical engineer," he told ChAPTER One Online, the student e-zine of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), which profiled him last month. "That being said, I believe my technical background helped me better appreciate refinery, petrochemical, and liquefied natural gas projects in which I had lead roles."

During his time at Mobil, Arnheim held a number of executive positions in what Kennicott of the Post called "the three opera capitals of the world"-New York, where he served as assistant controller; Paris, where he worked as treasurer for the company's operations in France; and London, as assistant treasurer for Europe and Africa. He also held a variety of senior management positions in finance, planning, and accounting at Mobil's corporate headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, including vice president for economics and planning. He was named company treasurer in 1995.

Arnheim has sat on a number of boards and councils in the finance, oil, and computer industries, including The Conference Board Council of Corporate Treasurers, Compaq Computer Corporation Board of Advisors, and the Board of Advisors to the University of Pittsburgh Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. Rounding out a very diverse personal and professional resume, Arnheim is a former amateur hockey player, and associate professor at the Hofstra University Business School in Hempstead, New York.

What Does an "Opera ED" do?In his new job, Arnheim is "responsible for the day-to-day running of the Opera, including performances, fundraising, and finance." The artistic affairs of the Opera, including the selection and scheduling of the operas to be performed and their casting, are handled by Artistic Director Plácido Domingo, best known to most Americans as one of the popular "Three Tenors." "Both positions report to the president of the Opera, a volunteer position," he explains, adding "to be successful, the executive director and the artistic director need to work well together, and with the Opera Executive Committee and Board of Trustees-and we do!"

Administering a budget for the coming year set around $30 million, Arnheim will oversee two company premieres, Parsifal and Don Quichotte, and productions of Il Trovatore and Don Carlo which mark the 100th anniversary of composer Giusseppe Verdi's death. Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Le Nozze di Figaro, Turandot, and an American opera, The Consul by Gian Carlo Menotti, round out the Opera's 45th anniversary season.

When asked if his engineering background would be a plus in his new responsibilities, Arnheim told ChAPTER One Online that, "it gave me a way of thinking that has proven very helpful. I am not an 'opera expert' by any means. Fortunately, the Washington Opera is blessed with many of these folks. My contribution is more on the process side- processes that can help an organization plan and manage and achieve all that it can achieve. It's a little bit like being a refinery manager only here our products are operas, not gasoline or fuel oil."

Arnheim is quick to point out, however, that there are noticeable differences between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds. "My greatest adjustment was in having to scale back the pace of change I would like to effect," he said. "Change is never an easy process to manage in any organization. Large organizations have a lot of resources-people and financial-to help facilitate the change. Nonprofits, like the Washington Opera, are not so blessed. Here, folks need to manage their critical day-to-day responsibilities, in addition to trying to change them. That's tough. It's like asking the pilots and air traffic controllers to help redesign the airline company while keeping their planes in the air and on schedule."

Despite all that, he's quick to point out that the nonprofit world pays people for their efforts in ways other than cash. "According to a study I recently read, every other American adult spends at least three hours per week working as a volunteer for a non-profit," he notes. "You make the leap from a part-time volunteer to a full-time leader for love, not money. Compensation in terms of dollars and cents in the nonprofit world is a fraction of that of the for-profits. But I believe that when you throw in the intangibles of being associated with a nonprofit organization that you believe in and where you can personally make a difference, the total pay package-financial plus intangibles -can't be beat."

Celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, National Engineers Week was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) to increase public awareness and appreciation of the engineering profession, and engineers' contributions to our way of life, including "the games people play." Thousands of engineers, engineering students, teachers, and leaders in government and business participate each year. National Engineers Week is led by a consortium of more than 100 engineering, scientific, and education societies, including AIChE, and by major corporations. Co-chairs for the 2001 National Engineers Week program are NSPE and the IBM International Foundation. More information on National Engineers Week can be found at http://www.eweek.org.

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