Stephen A. Schwarzman Named Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Kenneth M. Duberstein and Alma Johnson Powell, Interim Co-Chairs of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, today announced the election of Stephen A. Schwarzman as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Schwarzman is President, CEO and Co-Founder of The Blackstone Group, a global investment and advisory firm headquartered in New York City. He will assume his Kennedy Center responsibilities immediately. Mr. Schwarzman succeeds James A. Johnson, who stepped down from the Chairmanship this past January.

“After a thorough and thoughtful search process by the Board’s search committee, led by Tom Wheeler and Catherine Stevens, Steve Schwarzman was the unanimous choice,” said Mr. Duberstein. “He possesses the leadership skills for which the Center is known.”

Mrs. Powell added, “Steve’s impressive qualifications in the business world, combined with his commitment to the arts and education, make him ideal for this next stage of the Center’s growth.”

“It is an extraordinary privilege for me to be asked to serve as Chairman of the Kennedy Center, an organization that I hold in the very highest regard,” said Mr. Schwarzman. “Its contribution to the performing arts and to American culture as a whole is invaluable. I look forward to working with Center President Michael Kaiser and his team to continue enhancing the Center’s profile and its contribution to the performing arts on both the national and international stages.”

“Steve Schwarzman’s election signals a new chapter in the Center’s history. Steve shares the Center’s goal to be at the forefront of the performing arts institutions in America. His enthusiasm for fulfilling that mission will benefit the Center at many levels and I look forward to working with him,” said Mr. Kaiser.

“The Kennedy Center is a wonderful living memorial to President Kennedy and his vision for the arts in America,” said Kennedy Center Trustee Senator Edward M. Kennedy. “Steve Schwarzman has incomparable business and management skills. He is a great partner for Michael Kaiser and I very much look forward to all that they will achieve together for the arts in Washington and around the country.”

Mr. Schwarzman has been the President and CEO of The Blackstone Group since co-founding it in 1985. Before that, he worked for Lehman Brothers where he was elected Managing Director in 1978. He is on the board of directors of the New York City Ballet, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the New York Public Library and New York City Partnership. He also serves on the board of the Harvard Business School Visiting Committee, was an Adjunct Professor at Yale School of Management, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is married to Christine Hearst Schwarzman, an intellectual property attorney.

Mr. Schwarzman will be the fifth Chairman of the Center. The previous chairmen are Roger L. Stevens, Ralph P. Davidson, James D. Wolfensohn and James A. Johnson.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is America’s living memorial to President Kennedy and the nation’s busiest performing arts facility. In its seven theaters and on its free Millennium Stage, the Center presents theater and musicals, dance and ballet, orchestral, chamber, jazz, popular, and folk music, and multi-media performances. Millions around the nation attend Kennedy Center touring productions and tune in to Kennedy Center television and radio broadcasts. The Kennedy Center and its artistic affiliate, the National Symphony Orchestra, have presented, commissioned, and produced the greatest performers and performances from across America and around the world. The Center’s achievements as a producer and commissioner of new works have created a legacy that includes nearly 300 original productions and commissions in theater, opera, dance, and music. The Kennedy Center’s innovative arts education programs offer lifelong learning opportunities in the arts that benefit young people, educators, families, and adults in the national capital area and in every state in the nation. For more information visit www.kennedy-center.org

The Blackstone Group, a private investment and advisory firm headquartered in New York and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Hamburg and Paris, was founded in 1985. The firm is a world leader in alternative asset investing and has raised a total of approximately $32 billion for this purpose since its formation. Over $14 billion of that has been for private equity investing, including Blackstone Capital Partners IV, the largest institutional private equity fund ever raised at $6.45 billion. In addition to private equity investing, The Blackstone Group’s core businesses are private real estate investing, corporate debt investing, marketable alternative asset management, and corporate advisory and restructuring and reorganization advisory services. For more information visit www.blackstone.com