CTO + COO in the Arts Program
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Program Summary
The arts have always evolved alongside technology, often more quietly than is acknowledged. People in the arts have been at the forefront of experimenting with culture-changing technologies, whether you are a museum professional, curator, or director. As part of the CTO + COO in the Arts Program, we are offering fully sponsored places so executives in the arts can join our Certificate Board Leadership Program on Quantum and AI for free.
CTOs and COOs drive the future of arts organizations by turning bold visions into operational reality. Our program empowers executives in the arts to deliver thoughtful concepts to the board, gain deeper insights on how boards evaluate proposals, and understand the role of the board. We invite you to imagine the future of these technologies with us.
Why now?
Design is where abstract technological capability becomes lived experience. A ticketing system becomes an access philosophy. A digital archive becomes a public memory institution. An AI tool becomes a curatorial or creative collaborator. When design is excluded from strategic conversations, institutions risk optimizing for efficiency without fully understanding the cultural consequences of the systems they adopt.
This is where a gap has opened: design is still too often treated as a downstream function rather than a strategic one. Artists, designers, curators, and museum professionals are uniquely equipped to do what governance increasingly requires: offer alternative visions of the future. They ask not only whether a system works, but what kind of cultural, social, and aesthetic world it produces.
Apply to the CTO + COO in the Arts Program
To receive a fully sponsored seat at our Certificate Board Leadership Program, please email Advisory@UnbuiltLabs.com with your web profile (e.g. Linkedin) and your preferred program dates available here. This program is selective and we are only able to sponsor limited participants. Please note this program is only open to participants in the US, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, and the EU at this time.
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If you have senior-level experience running operations or technology/innovation in arts organizations, we encourage you to apply.
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As a private sector think tank, we decline government contracts, government contractors, as well as the management and board members of government or public agencies — from all countries — as a risk management measure. We also decline Politically Exposed Persons (PEP). Examples of PEP include but is not limited to Head of States, politicians, legislators, political party officials, management at state owned enterprises, as well as the members of the judiciary, military, or diplomatic functions of a government. In some cases we are able to accommodate people from international organizations, multilateral organizations, and development banks. Please email Advisory@UnbuiltLabs.com if you have any questions.
Leadership
Marguerite Van Cook, Ph.D.
From Marguerite's early days at the Treasury department at IBM in the 70s, working alongside colleagues on room-sized computers, she now brings her expertise to Quantum Oaks Advisory at Unbuilt Labs supporting boards on quantum computing vision and strategies. Marguerite Van Cook came to New York with her punk band The Innocents, after touring the UK with The Clash. She has been an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York. Marguerite has been a speaker at the UN, Boards Impact Forum, Williams College, Whitney Museum, MOMA, and other institutions. She serves on the Board of Unbuilt Labs. She is the President of the Board at Visual AIDS, and the President Emeritus of Howl Arts Inc.
Marguerite@UnbuiltLabs.com
Co-Managing Director
Marvin Cheung
Marvin has a background in emerging technologies, having consulted and advised startups in New York. He holds judge, reviewer, and mentor roles at Johns Hopkins, MIT, Kellogg-Morgan Stanley, and Yale University. Recognized for his astute understanding of complex global systems, he chairs the Global Consortium for Systems Research and serves on the Board of Unbuilt Labs as well as various advisory boards. He has also been a Global Diplomacy Fellow as well as an Expert on SDGs and Strategic Planning at the United Nations. He regularly briefs boards on pressing issues. He has given talks at the UN, MIT, ChairX, Boards Impact Forum, and other institutions. He writes a monthly Global Strategy Briefing for Boards at Quantum Insider. He is a member of the University of Oxford Quantum Information Society.
Marvin@UnbuiltLabs.com
Co-Managing Director