Taking a Step-by-Step Approach to Growth

“We benefited from the fact that we went through a tough time seven years ago,” said Mr. Benezra, 55, who grew up in the Bay Area.

He became director in 2002, soon after the dot-com bubble had burst. The museum had just undergone a huge growth spurt. Riding the wave of affluence amassed in the area from high-tech industries since the 1980s, the museum had moved in 1995 from cramped, shared quarters in the War Memorial Building to its expansive home designed by Mario Botta.