Former HBO Exec Named CEO of Historic Mount Vernon

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association on Tuesday announced the selection of Curtis G. Viebranz as new president and CEO.

Viebranz, 59, will begin his tenure on Monday, Sept. 17. Viebranz is the tenth person to head Mount Vernon since the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association’s stewardship began in 1858. His selection comes after a national search conducted by a committee consisting of six Vice Regents of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, supported by Russell Reynolds Associates.

“This position drew a very strong response from a wide array of candidates with diverse experience and backgrounds,” search committee chair Barbara Lucas said in a statement released by the estate on Tuesday. “Curt is a highly successful, entrepreneurial executive who has led major multinational businesses and understands both new and traditional media,” Lucas continued. “He knows how to take established organizations to higher levels of excellence and has a profound respect for the experience that Mount Vernon affords its visitors and for our preservation and collections mission.”

During his 17-year career at Time Warner and Time, Inc., Vibranz served as the first president of Time Inc. Multimedia, Time Inc. Europe, and HBO Video. His last position was president of HBO International. After leaving Time Warner, Viebranz had a role in launching media start-ups, most notably Olé Communications and TACODA, Inc. He joined the staff of AOL in 2007 after the company’s acquisition of TACODA and served as president of Platform A, overseeing advertising sales and strategy for all of AOL’s owned and operated sites. [Editor's note: Patch is owned by AOL.] He most recently co-founded and chaired Korrelate, Inc., a firm that provides insights and analytics on web advertising. 

He is an also an active leader in the Boys & Girls Clubs movement and is a longtime board member of the Meserve-Kunhardt Foundation, which has one of the nation’s largest archives of Civil War photos.  He has served as president of the Middlebury College Alumni Association and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

“It is a great honor to have the opportunity to lead Mount Vernon,” Viebranz said in a statement. “Just as I am inspired by George Washington’s example of leadership, I am equally captivated by the efforts of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association over the past century and a half to preserve Mount Vernon and Washington’s legacy. Ensuring Washington’s relevance will require new ways of thinking and new initiatives, and I look forward to approaching this challenge with respect for the remarkable accomplishments that have been achieved here over the years.”

“With the opening of this new library, we have an unprecedented opportunity to expand understanding of Washington’s life and legacy beyond the estate to people of all ages across the nation and around the world,” Association Regent Ann Bookout said. “Curt is passionate about the mission of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association to preserve and educate, and his remarkable career promises to help bridge the past and the future. He recognizes the importance of scholarly research and is committed to helping us find new ways to advance the remarkable leadership of our first president.”

Viebranz was born in Boston and raised in Larchmont, New York. He holds a BA from Middlebury College and an MBA from Harvard University. He and his wife, Cissy, currently live in Chester, N.J., but will soon relocate to the Mount Vernon area. They have two daughters, Lillie Belle, 19, and Story, 18; and a son, Angus, 17.