Hennepin Theatre Trust head Mark Nerenhausen to step down

Mark Nerenhausen has announced he'll retire in September as president and chief executive officer of Hennepin Theatre Trust.

Nerenhausen, only HTT's second CEO, took the reins in 2017 after co-founder Tom Hoch stepped down to run for mayor. His accomplishments in his six-year tenure include bringing improv troupe Brave New Workshop into HTT as a resident company and acquiring the theater where it performed.

Nerenhausen also oversaw the acquisition of a space adjacent to the Orpheum Theatre, and the ahead-of-schedule completion of a lease with the city of Minneapolis (paying off $14 million in bonds for the State, Orpheum and Pantages theaters last October).

"I am particularly proud of Hennepin Theatre Trust's major accomplishment in redeeming the bonds issued by the city 13 years early and securing the full titles to the historic Orpheum, State and Pantages," Nerenhausen said. "What we've done is taken the fledgling org that Tom Hoch created and added to that, turning ourselves into a major performing arts center."

The Wisconsin native came to Minneapolis after leading the Janklow Arts Leadership program at Syracuse University in New York as well as performing arts centers in Dallas and Fort Lauderdale. He said that while he will continue service on nonprofit boards, he may not take another full-time gig.

"I've been doing this for 50 years," he said.

A firm has been engaged to conduct a nationwide search for Nerenhausen's successor.