WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Daniel G. DeRusha has been selected as the new executive director of the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen.
DeRusha joins the IMRRC following a 13-year tenure with the Corning Museum of Glass. During his time at the museum he has held roles managing guest relations, strategic corporate partnerships, and outreach initiatives. He also played an important part in the planning and execution of the GlassBarge, which traveled across New York State in 2017 and 2018 in celebration of the bicentennial of the Erie Canal.
Most recently, DeRusha served as Manager of Institutional Giving and Chief of Staff for the museum’s advancement department.
He has a BS in Transportation and Distribution Management from Syracuse University and an executive MBA from the Rochester Insitute of Technology’s Saunders College of Business.
“I am honored to join such a professional and passionate team focused on preserving and sharing both our rich local history in motorsports and the expanding international archival collection,” DeRusha said.
“On behalf of our Board of Directors, I am delighted to welcome Dan,” said IMRRC Chairman John Saunders. “In addition to his leadership talents, Dan brings tremendous enthusiasm for motorsports history in Watkins Glen and throughout the world.”
DeRusha brings a personal passion for vintage cars and Upstate New York automotive history to his new position. He currently owns and regularly drives a 1928 Franklin model 12B 5-passenger sedan (manufactured in Syracuse, N.Y.), and a 1977 MGB, which he inherited from his father and ran in several Stone Bridge Driver events during the Grand Prix Festival in Watkins Glen. DeRusha is also a past president of the H.H. Franklin Club.
The IMRRC Search Committee selected DeRusha to oversee a new era of transformation and growth at the Center. As executive director, he will have overall operational, administrative and financial responsibility for the IMRRC.
Those duties includes strategic and financial planning, leadership of the Center’s staff, and the management of annual fundraising and membership campaigns.
“The IMRRC establishes Watkins Glen as a center of excellence in the preservation of motorsports history,” DeRusha said. “I look forward to collaborating with the organization’s expert staff and our incredibly accomplished Board of Directors in the continued stewardship of our collections and expansion of our reach within the international motorsports community.”