Chad Hilligus is a proven arts leader with 20+ years of collective industry experience as a performer, producer, artistic director, fundraiser, curator, presenter, and chief executive for multiple venues, overseeing organizational budgets exceeding $10 million. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, California in 2021, where he oversees both executive and artistic operations.

Chad has presented, produced, directed, and performed in over 500 shows in more than twenty different countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. A former member of the multi-platinum classical crossover group The Ten Tenors, Chad first gained international acclaim starring as Tony in the 50th Anniversary World Tour of West Side Story. He has performed as a Resident Artist with Sarasota Opera, Nashville Opera, Tulsa Opera, San Diego Opera, and frequently appears as a guest artist with orchestras across the country, most recently the Pacific Symphony and the Modesto Symphony Orchestra.

As a producer, Chad has collaborated with icons such as Kristin Chenoweth, Tyne Daly, Lucie Arnaz, Alan Cumming, Florence Henderson, Gavin MacLeod, Lily Tomlin, and a long list of Broadway performers. Highlights include producing and directing West Side Story at Boston's Symphony Hall as part of the Bernstein Centennial with Keith Lockhart and The Boston Pops, producing and directing Carol Channing’s 95th Birthday Spectacular at the McCallum Theatre, and being asked by the family to produce Ms. Channing's official memorial celebration following her passing in 2019 at the age of 97.

Prior to his appointment at the Gallo Center for the Arts, Chad served as Executive and Artistic Director of Performance Santa Fe in New Mexico, and five years at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California as Director of Major Gifts and Resident Producer overseeing all special programming projects.