ABT’s Hands-On Chairman

Lewis S. Ranieri, became chairman of American Ballet Theatre last August after “pledging $2 million to the company. While chairmen typically contribute to a cultural institution’s general operating fund, Mr. Ranieri has personally paid for specific expenditures, including increased marketing, dancers’ housing, consultants’ fees and bathroom renovations at the company’s headquarters. Chairmen usually do not work on the premises of their arts organizations, but Mr. Ranieri created an office for himself out of a dance studio at Ballet Theater’s Manhattan headquarters — he pays the rent for his space — where he puts in time almost every day despite his job as lead director at Computer Associates on Long Island. Mr. Ranieri’s unorthodox approach raises questions, arts executives say.”