Honolulu Museum of Art, Director and Chief Executive Officer

David Odo, PhD

We are pleased to announce that David Odo has been appointed director and chief executive officer of the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA), effective September 1, 2026.

A respected and innovative museum administrator, curator, scholar, and educator, Odo brings nearly two decades of leadership experience across museums, universities, and cultural institutions. He joins HoMA from the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia, where he served as director and chief curator. Under his leadership, the museum saw attendance increase 67%, paid memberships increased 41%, the number of donors grew 8%, and overall museum revenue increased 141%.

As director and CEO, Odo will lead HoMA’s team, oversee its collection and programs, advance fundraising and strategic initiatives, and guide the institution as it enters its second century of service to Hawai‘i and the broader art community.

Odo earned his D.Phil. in social and cultural anthropology from the University of Oxford and his B.A. from Columbia University in East Asian studies. He has held numerous research fellowships, including at Harvard University, the Freer and Sackler Galleries at the Smithsonian Institution, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and the University of Tokyo.

Read the full press release here.

Sarah James and Courtney Wilk-Mandel led this search with Aku Ammah-Tagoe and Cara Meyers.