Photo of the Auditorium Theatre by Tatyana Perrault

The Auditorium Theatre has announced the appointment of CJ Dillon as Chief Programming Officer, Rachel Freund as Chief Financial Officer, and Nick Tigue as Chief Operating Officer.

“It is an honor to welcome Rachel Freund as our Chief Financial Officer and Nickolas Tigue as our Chief Operating Officer, and to continue to work with CJ Dillon in the newly created position of Chief Programming Officer,” said Tania Castroverde Moskalenko, Auditorium Theatre CEO. “They are all leaders in their respective fields, and I look forward to the work we will do together, along with Chief Marketing Officer Colleen Flanigan and Chief Development Officer Judie Green, to shape the future of our National Historic Landmark.”

The Auditorium Theatre has also announced that their Board of Directors has appointed John Svoboda as its new Chairman. Svoboda succeeds Charles R. Gardner, who began his tenure as Chairman in 2015.

“First, I want to express my sincere gratitude to Charlie Gardner for his great work as Chairman of the Board of Directors, especially for his knowledge, wisdom, and support as I began my tenure at the theatre last fall,” says Moskalenko. “I am so pleased to begin working with John as he steps into his new role. John is one of the theatre’s biggest advocates, and he is dedicated to fulfilling the theatre’s mission of being the Theatre for the People.”

“It will be a great honor to lead the Auditorium Theatre’s Board of Directors, and I look forward to working with Tania, her team, the Board, Roosevelt University, the theatre’s programming partners, and the city of Chicago to significantly increase the profile of the theatre at the local, national, and international levels,” says Svoboda. “I am excited about promoting the mission of the Auditorium Theatre, which as the Theatre for the People is the leading arts venue in the city for presenting such a diverse array of programming.”

CJ Dillon joined the Auditorium Theatre in 2007, and served as Chief Operating Officer since 2013 to December 2016. Prior to the Auditorium, he worked for Broadway in Chicago and Gill Theatrical Management in Las Vegas, and ran his own consulting business.

Rachel Freund served at Steppenwolf from 2002 to 2017 as Director of Finance and, most recently, as Director of Operations and Management. She is a newly appointed board member for Definition Theatre Company, and previously served on the boards for Red Tape Theatre and 20% Theatre Company. Freund holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Christian Brothers University and a Master of Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago.

Nick Tigue is leaving a post at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, IN, where he served as Vice President of Operations and Human Resources. Prior to the Center, Tigue worked as the Senior Director of Operations for the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers and as the Senior Director of Facility Engineering for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, FL.

John Svoboda, a longtime Chicagoan and Auditorium Theatre donor, is a co-founder of Svoboda Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, and currently the company’s Managing Director. He previously served as Vice-Chair of the Auditorium Theatre’s Board. In addition, Svoboda also serves as a trustee for the University of Chicago Medical Center and the Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute; is a life trustee for the Francis W. Parker School; and serves on the Advisory Board of MATH Venture Partners.