Nate Boudreaux
INDIANAPOLIS — Drum Corps International, Marching Music’s Major League, has appointed Nate Boudreaux as its new chief executive officer.
Boudreaux, who will officially start in the position on November 1, will serve as just the fourth full-time CEO of Drum Corps International since the nonprofit’s founding in 1972. He will take over from retiring executive Dan Acheson who assumed the role in 1995.
"I am thrilled for this opportunity as Dan Acheson has done a great job of positioning the organization for a seamless transition," Boudreaux said. "I'm excited to immerse myself in everything DCI while also bringing some new and innovative ideas that I feel will resonate with the membership as well as the participants within the marching arts."
Boudreaux comes to DCI after spending the last five years as executive director/CEO of USA Water Ski & Wake Sports (USA-WSWS), the national governing body of towed water sports as recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). At USA-WSWS, he successfully led a turnaround of the organization’s finances from a negative position in 2018 to an operating surplus in 2023.
With USA-WSWS Boudreaux focused on creating marketing initiatives to drive new members to the sport, and in 2022, he was awarded the USOPC Choice Award for the Girls, Inc. Learn to Ski Program for excellence in diversity, equity and inclusion.
Prior to USA-WSWS, he spent four years as director of corporate partnerships at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), a nonprofit organization of 50,000 sports medicine and exercise professionals. During his tenure at ACSM, Boudreaux increased sponsorship revenue and forged multi-year partnerships with major brands like Adidas, Gatorade, Technogym and Polar.
Boudreaux also spent nine years in communications, marketing and business development roles at USA Football, an independent nonprofit organization endowed by the NFL that serves as the national governing body of youth and amateur football. He additionally worked four seasons in the NFL as a media relations coordinator with the Cleveland Browns.
A graduate of Loyola University of New Orleans, Boudreaux is a U.S. Army ROTC scholarship recipient and served as a commissioned officer (retired) in the U.S. Army Reserve.
In his spare time, Boudreaux enjoys playing golf and working as a certified high school football and NCAA college basketball official.
Ahead of his official start in November, Boudreaux attended the fall business planning meeting of DCI’s World Class corps on September 27 in Indianapolis. In addition to a general introduction by the DCI board of directors to the corps representatives in attendance, Boudreaux briefly outlined his goals for the first 12 months on the job and participated in a question and answer session.
Jonathan Powell, chair of the DCI board of directors and head of the CEO search committee, noted that Acheson will remain with DCI into 2024 to ensure a seamless transition.
“During Dan’s tenure as CEO, Drum Corps International has seen remarkable growth during a period of unprecedented change,” Powell said. “His steady leadership guided the organization through some incredibly challenging times and helped to build the DCI brand to be recognized worldwide as Marching Music’s Major League.
“The board of directors is excited to have Nate as the next generation of leadership moving DCI forward, as we get to work on the 2024 DCI Tour and beyond.”