Sean Malone

In 1997, while completing his Masters in Business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Sean began working with Dr. Joseph W. Garton (1946-2003) of Madison to save Ten Chimneys, the imperiled Wisconsin estate of Broadway legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Sean worked with Dr. Garton to cultivate and recruit the first Board of Trustees and define the organization’s mission and vision. In 1998, Sean became Ten Chimneys Foundation’s first Vice President, serving as the organization’s Chief Financial, Development, and Operations Officer. In 2002, Sean became President of Ten Chimneys Foundation.

Under Sean’s leadership, Ten Chimneys Foundation successfully completed a $12.5 million capital campaign, fully restored Ten Chimneys, designed and constructed the Lunt-Fontanne Program Center (to support public access, public programs, and programs for American theatre), and successfully opened Ten Chimneys to the public as a world-class house museum on May 26, 2003. Since opening, Ten Chimneys has garnered an international reputation as one of the most inspirational and innovative historic sites in the United States. Ten Chimneys’ unique public programs and performances enthrall audiences every year, its museum store is touted nationally as a model of mission fit and retail success, and its traveling exhibitions have been installed on Broadway, in Chicago, in San Francisco, at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, and at The National Theatre in London.

In addition to programs for the public, Sean had led Ten Chimneys to becoming a powerful resource for actors, trustees, staff members, and other theatre professionals from theatres and theatre schools throughout the nation. In 2009, Ten Chimneys launched the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program, a ground-breaking national program to serve regional theatre actors and the future of American theatre.

Sean has also led Ten Chimneys to a reputation for exceptional fiscal prudence and focused management. The organization has had a positive net operating income every year since it was founded, spending an impressive 92% of its annual budget on the programs and services it exists to provide – with only 8% of the total budget spent on general administration, management, and fundraising.

In addition to a remarkable apprenticeship under Joe Garton, Sean has been mentored by a number of extraordinary civic and business leaders, including his former Board Chair, the late United States Ambassador, Charles W. Bray. Insights on diplomacy, community engagement, intellectual curiosity, thoughtful discourse, and setting ambitious, important goals are among Sean’s most prized lessons-learned.

Prior to Ten Chimneys, Sean worked on national fundraising campaigns and played key roles in a number of successful endeavors – including work for George Street Playhouse, The Grand Canyon Shakespeare Festival, Madison Repertory
Theatre, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse. Sean is a former professional actor and singer. He has a B.F.A. in Theatre from the University of Southern California and a Masters in Business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business (Bolz Center for Arts Administration). He was named 1998 Outstanding Graduate Business Student for the UW-Madison School of Business. 

Sean Malone was named one of the city’s “Forty under 40” by the Milwaukee Business Journal. Sean has lectured at Oxford University, the National Arts Club, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He has appeared on CBS News Sunday
Morning, NPR’s All Things Considered, and dozens of regional television and radio stations – and has been quoted in hundreds of newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, The Chicago Tribune, Playbill, and the Associated Press.

Sean lives in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin with his beautiful wife, accomplished fundraiser Erika Kent, and their lovely daughters, Emma and Lili. His indulgences include reading The New York Times on his iPhone, running (in warm weather), and eating as much ice cream as he can run off.