High Museum of Art exec resigns amid probe into missing funds

The chief operating officer of the High Museum of Art has resigned amid an investigation into the museum’s finances, a matter the board of the Woodruff Arts Center voted Tuesday be referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Brady Lum, who tendered his resignation Dec. 9, allegedly misappropriated about $600,000 over a period of three to four years, Woodruff’s CEO and President Hala Moddelmog said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Moddelmog, citing the investigation, said the organization believes Lum acted alone.

When reached by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for comment on Tuesday, Lum hung up. He did not respond to follow-up requests for comment via phone and email.

The alleged theft will not impact any of the museum’s or Woodruff’s operations, Moddelmog said. Both the High and Woodruff remain financially stable, and the organization will pursue all avenues to seek restitution, she said.

Woodruff’s governing board approved Atlanta law firm King & Spalding to refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia to seek possible criminal prosecution, Moddelmog said. A spokesperson for Woodruff declined to make a copy of the investigation available to the AJC, citing legal privilege.

“We believe that Lum abused his executive level position at the High to access the money and hide what he did for several years,” Moddelmog said.

The High Museum is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeast. Located on Peachtree Street, it is a division under the Woodruff Arts Center, which also consists of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Alliance Theatre.

The Woodruff Arts Center reported about $131.5 million in revenue in fiscal year 2024, according to an IRS Form 990. In the previous fiscal year, it reported $99.8 million in revenue.

Woodruff launched an investigation after leadership with the High Museum discovered financial irregularities within its organization in early December, Moddelmog said. It shared this finding with the museum’s executive committee and reported it to the Woodruff Arts Center’s governing board, which initiated an independent review to determine what happened.

Moddelmog’s team hired the law firm King & Spalding to conduct a review and investigation, as well as an independent forensic accountant. The law firm sent Woodruff an engagement letter on Dec. 12, according to a document reviewed by the AJC.

Lum was hired in February 2019, according to a press release published on the museum’s website. The page was taken down Tuesday morning.

Between 1993 and 2008, he held various leadership positions with Coca-Cola, according to the release. He later became the president and chief operating officer of the Washington, D.C.-based Special Olympics International, where he led functions and operations of 250 associates across seven regions. He held this role until 2013, and returned back to the beverage giant in 2014 as the senior vice president and general manager of Coca-Cola/Keurig Ventures North America.