The Apollo Elects Lou D’Ambrosio and A. Mark Getachew to its Board of Directors

Harlem, NY – (May 28, 2024) – The Apollo’s Chairman, Charles Phillips, and President and Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Ebanks, today announced that the iconic Harlem nonprofit organization’s Board of Directors has continued to expand with the election of Lou D’Ambrosio and A. Mark Getachew. Mr. Getachew and Mr. D’Ambrosio join the Board during the organization’s 90th-anniversary season, which is marked by the opening of The Apollo’s Stages at The Victoria, the upcoming renovation of the Historic Theater, and the recent addition of four additional members to the Board who were appointed in February, all during new President and CEO Michelle Ebanks’ first year. This continued expansion of the Board allows The Apollo to continue to grow the scope and scale of its programs across four performance stages and create a sustainable model for world-class artistic expression and support of artists and the Harlem community for the next 90 years.

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“The Board of Directors has steadfastly supported The Apollo for decades. It is an exciting time of change and growth as The Apollo, the epicenter of Black culture and music, celebrates nine decades of shaping culture in Harlem, New York, and globally. Through the stellar leadership of Michelle and my colleagues on the Board, we continue to have volunteer leaders ask how they can help, and we are thrilled that Mark and Lou have offered to come aboard to share their talent and relationships as we continue our centennial decade,” said Charles Phillips.

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“I am thrilled that Mark and Lou have joined the rest of the sensational group of individuals who make up The Apollo’s Board of Directors. The Board has longtime dedicated members who have helped shape the upward trajectory for The Apollo and the cultural ecosystem of Harlem, as well as a new group of members, including Mark and Lou, whose excitement for where The Apollo is headed and passion for our mission will help steer the organization for decades to come. Coupled with all the milestones of this season, I’m thankful this dedicated Board continues its unwavering support of artists and our Harlem community and that we will be able to experiment and find new ways to reach even more audiences,” said Michelle Ebanks.

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“I'm honored to join The Apollo’s Board of Directors and enthusiastic to help support this extraordinary organization accomplish its mission,” said D’Ambrosio. “The Apollo is such an important cultural venue in New York and for American culture, and I am humbled to be a part of it.”

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“It is a great privilege for me to join the Board of The Apollo, a historic and iconic New York City and American institution that’s treasured around the world,” said Getachew. “As a young Ethiopian boy in suburban Los Angeles who had immigrated to the U.S. with my family under political asylum, I have so many fond memories of learning about American culture by watching current and future stars grace The Apollo’s legendary stage on our family television. I never would have thought that the day would come that I would have the honor of working with The Apollo’s Board and leadership team in my adopted home of New York City to shape tomorrow’s generations of inspirational Apollo stars.”

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About The New Board Members

Lou D’Ambrosio is a Partner at Goldman Sachs and Global Head of Value Accelerator – a platform of distinguished operating executives that partner with portfolio companies in driving value creation. Previously, he was the CEO of Fortune 500 companies and senior executive across multiple industries. D’Ambrosio served as Executive Chairman of Sensus, a clean technology leader in water and energy management. He was also the CEO of Sears Holdings, comprised of Sears, Kmart, and Lands’ End. Additionally, D’Ambrosio served as CEO of Avaya, Inc., a global telecommunications company. Earlier in his career, D’Ambrosio spent 16 years at IBM in leadership roles and was a member of IBM’s Worldwide Management Council. He has served on the Boards of nonprofit organizations, including the Jackson Laboratory, a leading biomedical organization, and the Walnut Street Theater. D’Ambrosio received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and Bachelor of Science in Business from Pennsylvania State University, graduating summa cum laude and valedictorian.

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A. Mark Getachew is a partner in the Corporate & Financial Services Department of the elite international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, where he focuses on public and private mergers and acquisitions, private equity/venture capital transactions, and general corporate and securities law matters. Mr. Getachew represents U.S. and non-U.S.-based public and private companies and private equity funds in connection with domestic and cross-border transactions, including leveraged buyouts, going-private transactions, and equity/asset sales and acquisitions, across a broad range of business sectors. He also often represents private equity funds, hedge funds, and public and private companies in areas such as early and later-stage financings, going-private transactions, equity/asset sales and acquisitions, and recapitalizations. Mr. Getachew also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Eagle Academy Foundation, a nationally recognized charitable organization that supports a network of traditional public schools in socioeconomically challenged communities within New York City and Newark, New Jersey.

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About The Apollo

The legendary Apollo—The Soul of American Culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, The Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world.

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With music at its core, The Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera, We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the Africa Now! Festival.

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The nonprofit Apollo Theater is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals and large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend The Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens, including the [at] The Intersection Arts and Ideas Festival, Women of the World (WOW) Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations. Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, The Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at The Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari; and The Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. For more information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.