Milwaukee Art Museum has hired Scott Schwebel as its first chief experience officer.
The new senior leadership role is designed to invigorate, expand and enhance the visitor experience at the museum as well as its brand engagement across all its platforms, according to a news release Monday. The position will also be responsible for deepening and expanding the museum’s cultural impact within the community, demonstrating a significant commitment to a new experiential strategy, MAM said.
Schwebel most recently served as chief marketing officer for Milwaukee-based real estate development firm J. Jeffers & Co. Prior to that, he was vice president of brand, marketing and retail at Colectivo Coffee.
With his appointment, MAM has become one of a handful of art museums that have created chief experience officer roles, a release states. Over the past several years, art museums have started to see the visitor experience as paramount, with some taking steps to hire leadership positions to pursue it strategically. The move shows MAM’s desire to make the visitor’s experience just as important to the institution as its artistic programming, learning and engagement initiatives, and donor and community relations, according to the release.
A national search, conducted by local executive recruiting firm Spano Pratt, drew more than 125 candidates from across the country, MAM said.
New strategic plan
“The chief experience officer represents a watershed moment in the evolution of the Milwaukee Art Museum as a destination, one that puts the visitor experience at the heart of all the institutional endeavors we pursue,” said Marcelle Polednik, Ph.D., MAM’s Donna and Donald Baumgartner director, in a press release. “It is a role entrusted with helping the museum tell better stories and build stronger relationships with our visitor community. Scott’s extensive expertise in the realms of marketing, retail, hospitality, and placemaking enable him to both truly appreciate the potential of this role and lend his talents to fulfill its singular and expansive mandate.”
The CXO is an integral part of the new strategic plan the museum’s senior leadership team and board of trustees are developing. The plan, to be released in January 2024, sets ambitious targets for the next chapter of the Milwaukee Art Museum and is driven by a deep commitment to connecting people and art through singular exhibitions and programs, state-of-the-art amenities, innovative storytelling and more across the museum’s campus.
“Scott’s appointment to this role completes the museum’s talented senior leadership team, catalyzing our ability to advance the visitor experience not just as a means to an end but, rather, as a core pursuit in its own right,” said Polednik. “Together, we will build on the momentum we’ve established coming out of the pandemic era to truly rise to the opportunities afforded by our beautiful campus, iconic collection and inimitable team.”
Milwaukee branding
Schwebel brings a diverse portfolio of experience to the position, spanning industries of food and beverage, retail and hospitality, music and entertainment and high-end consumer products, including Trek Bicycle, Burton Snowboards, Wilson Sports, Harley-Davidson and Wolverine Boots. Following his agency career, which included stints at local firms GMR Marketing and Hanson Dodge, Schwebel spent nearly a decade at Colectivo Coffee, where he led the rebranding of the local staple from Alterra to Colectivo, as well as the creation of the Troubadour Bakery and Letterbox Fine Tea brands.
Schwebel’s earliest professional experience was in the music and entertainment industry, both as a musician and eventually as a marketer. He has been behind many of Milwaukee’s iconic experiences from Radio Milwaukee, Bublr Bikes and The Hop streetcar to multiple retail and hospitality venues. He also currently serves as an emeritus board position at Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design and as a brand and intellectual property consultant for Vibrant Body Company, helping land it on Fast Company’s 2023 list of World’s Most Innovative Companies.
A self-described “perennial creative,” Schwebel credits his diverse background and portfolio of successful business innovations for his readiness as MAM’s first-ever CXO.
“In many ways, this opportunity is tailor-made for my collective professional history,” Schwebel said. “I’ve enjoyed leading and building local and global iconic brands and their experiential platforms. The museum offers the pinnacle of Milwaukee as an iconic symbol, creative institution, tourist attraction, event and hospitality venue, and cultural leader. What an amazing opportunity to join the museum and fill this role with creative energy and steward the brand’s forward experience.”
