Sundance Institute Managing Director Betsy Wallace has landed a new role.

“I am writing to share the news that after eight years at Sundance Institute, the last five as Managing Director, I have made the decision to retire at the end of this month,” she said in a statement.

Wallace’s plan is to transition into a consulting role for the next year to support Sundance Chief Executive Officer Joana Vicente and the Institute’s team on specific strategic projects, as well as other outside projects, she said.

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“I have loved working for the Institute over the years; continuously being inspired by its mission, the wonderful work of our teams and being endlessly in awe of the creativity filmmakers bring to the (Sundance Film Festival) every year,” she said.

Vicente also issued a statement and thanked Wallace, who lives in Park City, for her “invaluable contributions” to the Sundance Institute.

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“Her leadership in key areas of the festival, creativity, solution-oriented approaches, and Utah expertise and relationships have guided the teams throughout the years,” Vicente said. “In particular, I appreciate her managing our operations, technology and finance teams along with her years of leading our business development.”

Wallace, whose background is in finance and business management, joined Sundance Institute in 2015 as chief financial officer, after working as principal accounting officer for Designer Shoe Warehouse and interim chief financial officer and chief accounting officer for PetSmart.

She was named Sundance Institute’s Managing Director in 2017, and oversaw all aspects of finance, technology, operations and strategic business development, including managing the Sundance Film Festival operations.

“She has made so many meaningful contributions over the years from her vision of converting the Park City Sports Authority building into the world-class theater, The Ray, to working with Walgreen’s to obtain long-term space to create an events and exhibition space for our programming,” Vicente said. “We are grateful for her steady hand and relentless commitment to the Institute and serving our mission.”

Sundance Institute will begin searching for Wallace’s replacement in the coming weeks, according to Vicente.

“We have a thoughtful transition plan in place,” she said. “Betsy has been part of an extensive wrap process allowing us to gather comprehensive learnings from this year’s first hybrid Sundance Film Festival as well as her many years serving our nonprofit.”

Until a replacement can be found, current CFO Michelle Anderson and Chief Product and Technology Officer Sheri Green will report directly to Vicente, while Morgan Everett, who oversees Sundance’s government relations and real estate, will report into the nonprofit’s General Counsel Trista Schroeder, Vicente said. 

Wallace says she wishes Vicente, Sundance Festival Director Eugene Hernandez and the Sundance team all the best.

“I hope to see you during next year’s Sundance Film Festival during which I finally am able to experience it as a patron — Something I am very excited about,” she said.