Paul Nicholson retired as OSF’s Executive Director in December 2012 after 33 years with the company. During his tenure he saw the Festival become one of the premier theatres in the United States. A New Zealander, Paul has the New Zealand equivalent of an MBA from Victoria University, Wellington. After working for ten years in the corporate world, he led Downstage Theatre, New Zealand’s largest professional theatre, for six years prior to moving to the U.S. and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has been a guest lecturer at many universities, is a frequent speaker at theatre and nonprofit leadership conferences and has consulted with many U.S. arts organizations. Paul has been actively involved in arts advocacy and served for many years on the board of the Oregon Cultural Advocacy Coalition. In 1991, he was featured in the PBS series on management, Nothing Ventured. He is a 25-year member of Rotary, has participated on many panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Theatre Communications Group and served for many years on the TCG Board as well as on numerous local boards and committees. He currently serves as a District Training Coordinator for Rotary, works with the Arts Committee of the Oregon Community Foundation, and serves on the boards of Southern Oregon University, La Clinica del Valle and the Carpenter Foundation. He continues to consult with arts organizations throughout North America.