(Credit: Darris Lee Harris)

Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced that Paul Gunning will join the company as their new vice president and chief marketing officer.

Gunning will bring with him over 20 years of experience with DDB Worldwide, one of the largest marketing communication networks in the world. For seven years, he served as President of DDB U.S. and oversaw a portfolio of over $200 million, as well as 600 employees in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and St. Louis. He has also spent five years as chief executive officer of DDB’s Tribal Worldwide, one of the world’s leading digital marketing agency networks.

“Paul Gunning brings fresh strategic insights from the corporate world to the nonprofit arts arena at a time when we are redoubling our efforts to bring new audiences to opera,” says Anthony Freud, Lyric’s general director, president & CEO. “Like everyone at Lyric, Paul believes in continuing to build a strong future for the company and the importance of the arts in contributing to a city’s cultural and economic vibrancy. His 30-year connection to Chicago will help us expand our outreach to communities throughout the city, the greater Chicagoland region, and the global opera world at large. We are looking forward to Paul joining the company and benefitting from his market knowledge and skills in this key role.”