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Philip DeBoer (MMIAM ’22) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.

Meadows boasts a number of incredible undergraduate and graduate degree opportunities, with many of the latter programs attracting students at different stages in their life and career. Alum Philip DeBoer entered the International Arts Management master’s program (MMIAM) with over a decade of career experience under his belt, but by the time he graduated, he had matured into an even more informed and impactful professional.

“That one very intensive year of graduate school shaped me in ways I would not have been able to experience had I simply stayed on my career path,” explains DeBoer, who was already working at executive search firm DHR Global, when he enrolled. “By accelerating and enhancing my growth and development via MMIAM, I better positioned myself to make a difference as a professional, as evidenced by my firm promoting me to a Partner as soon as I graduated.”

Between the case studies, tours and interviews with arts managers, and cultural immersion during the required terms abroad in Montréal and Milan, the MMIAM program – which is housed in Meadows’ Division of Arts Management & Arts Entrepreneurship – provides its students a well-rounded education. Many projects also give students deeper insight into the areas of finance, entrepreneurship, and marketing in the art world.

“The things I learned through MMIAM have both complemented and supplemented the things I've learned through hands-on experience in my career,” DeBoer says. “This means that when I am meeting with a client or candidate or trying to solve a problem, I am able to understand them, assess the situation, and propose solutions much faster and easier than before.”

As a Partner in DHR Global’s Nonprofit Practice, DeBoer works in a consultative role where he executes searches to fill CEO and other C-Suite positions for nonprofit organizations. Many of his clients are in the arts and cultural space and he has worked with organizations like the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Apollo Theater, Miami City Ballet, New Jersey Symphony and the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.

Though DeBoer mainly handles clients in the US, his firm has an international presence and serves clients across six continents. The cultural immersion he experienced during his terms abroad helped shape his worldview and improve his cultural competence, which adds confidence and credibility for any international client work he may take on professionally.

“My experience in the Master of Management in International Arts Management program had an indelible impact on my career trajectory and by the time I graduated, I had matured into an even more informed and impactful professional.”