When Eugene Gargaro announced in May 2023 that after 20 years he was stepping down as board chair of the Detroit Institute of Arts, the bar was set high for anyone moving into his shoes.
Gargaro left an extraordinary legacy that included overseeing the DIA’s $158-million renovation in 2007, securing the museum’s financial stability by proposing and co-chairing the successful tri-county millage campaigns, and guiding the institute through Detroit’s 2014 bankruptcy by leading the effort to raise $100 million as part of the “Grand Bargain” that saved the art and the building in perpetuity.
Led by Governance and Nominating Committee Chair Bonnie Larson, after a three-month search and the vetting of several candidates, Lane Coleman, a Detroit business leader and former Naval officer, was unanimously chosen as board chair to serve a term of three years. According to current DIA bylaws, a chair may serve up to three full terms.
Coleman is the first African-American to lead the DIA in its 139-year history, although in the past 10 years the board has become increasingly diverse.
Following a five-month transition period during which he regularly conferred with Gargaro, Coleman, who served on the board and the DIA’s executive, finance, and audit committees, formally took over as chair in January.
“I’m honored that I was chosen to lead the DIA for the next three years, and l look forward to advancing the museum’s mission,” Coleman says. “Gene Gargaro really helped me to prepare for this, and he’s still a confidant.”
After earning an engineering degree from Northern Illinois University in 1986, Coleman, who was raised in Chicago, became a Navy pilot. A veteran of Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Iraqi Freedom, he reached the rank of lieutenant commander.
From there he entered private industry and managed distribution for Amoco. Later, Coleman moved to Detroit and became a regional manager for Mays Chemical.
“Amoco wanted me to work in Detroit for a year, with a promise that after that I could move anywhere, but I didn’t want to go,” Coleman says. “I never experienced a city where the people were so kind, and I had never seen so many people of color in management positions or who owned their own firms. When my year was up, I told my boss that I wanted to stay here — and I’m now one of Detroit’s biggest ambassadors.”
Encouraged by the entrepreneurial spirit of Bill Mays, owner of Mays Chemical, in 1998 Coleman became founder, president, and CEO of Detroit-based Strike Group, a leading company specializing in sustainment logistics, material supply sourcing, and IT services.
He says his passion for art began in college, after he signed up for an art history class to fulfill credit hours.
“I like to say that as a kid, my only exposure to art was a framed poster my parents bought to match our couch,” Coleman says. “The college class opened my mind up to the importance and value of art, as I first learned about the masters, and it was so interesting. The next semester my fraternity brother, Kevin Cole, (who became a world-renowned artist) gave me one of his large three-dimensional pieces with (shoelaces), sunglasses, and ties mounted on it.
“I’d never seen anything like it, and I quickly became hooked on art,” Coleman remembers.
“When you pull back the art veneer that covers the DIA, it’s a big business,” Gargaro says. “I like everything Lane offers. He runs a large business and is very aware of the nuances of doing that. He’s very respected and connected to the Detroit community. He and his wife, Leigh, are passionate art collectors, and he already had a great rapport with Salvador Salort-Pons (the DIA’s director) and his wonderful team.”
Although the DIA is on very sound financial footing, and is admired worldwide for its collection and business model, Coleman takes nothing for granted.
“It’s really easy to fly a jet at a high altitude with smooth weather, but bad weather can come in quickly — so I’m never complacent,” Coleman says. “I’m not here to flip the apple cart, but I can help make the case for some new approaches.
“My responsibility is governance. I don’t get involved in day-to-day operations, but if I see something that’s not working, I’ll be on it. My leadership style is that it’s not about me, it’s the team.”
Pursuant to a strategic plan already in place, Coleman says the DIA is working to raise its endowment to $500 million by 2027, and to nearly $800 million by the time the millage ends in 2032.
“Our goal is to become self-sufficient, but also my big objective is for the DIA to be a place for everyone,” he says. “You can be an art lover and art historian, or be a kid from the city who has never been to an art museum.”
To that point, Coleman points out that the co-curator of the current DIA exhibit, Regeneration: Black Cinema 1989-1971, is native Detroiter Rhea Combs, who today is director of curatorial affairs at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. She was first exposed to the DIA on a school trip.
“The DIA is still one of those places where you can bump into Cynthia and Edsel Ford and a school kid from Cass Tech. If minorities and people from different ethnic backgrounds become more comfortable with the museum, that’s beneficial for everybody,” he says.
