Sakurako D Fisher

Sakurako Fisher, President of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) since 2012, stepped down in December 2020, completing eight years of leadership at the helm of one of the most acclaimed and innovative arts institutions in the country. Sakurako Fisher was elected President of the San Francisco Symphony in December 2012 and has been a member of the SFS Board of Governors since 1992. Fisher’s Board roles have included participation on Committees governing Artistic Policy, Finance, Development, Governance, Instrument Acquisition, Labor Relations, Human Resources, and Education, among others. She has personally supported many aspects of the Orchestra’s key initiatives—including the Second Century Campaign, the Fisher Family AIM Fund supporting the Orchestra’s public school music education program Adventures in Music, and a wide variety of audience-building incubator initiatives, among them her foundational leadership of SoundBox, the Orchestra’s experimental music space. Fisher has also chaired many of the Symphony’s signature fundraising events, such as Opening Night Gala. In addition to her significant roles with the San Francisco Symphony, Fisher is also a trustee of Stanford University and a presidential appointee to the Kennedy Center. Recent former chair of the National Board of the Smithsonian Institution, she served as co-chair of the organization’s first-ever campaign. Fisher has served as a trustee of the Thacher School in Ojai, California, chairing development there, and has been vice-chair of the Board of the Exploratorium Museum, where she chaired nominating. Twice chair of the Board of ODC/Dance, she has also served on the Boards of Stern Grove, Asian Art Museum Foundation, American Hospital of Paris, American Hospital of Paris Foundation, Alliance Française, and Centre Pompidou Foundation. She also sits on the US Advisory Board for the Union Centrale des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. At Stanford University, she is on the Advisory Boards of the Department of Humanities and Sciences as well as the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Fisher is a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of France. She previously worked as a grain merchant for Cargill, Inc., and as a foreign exchange dealer for Citibank.