Royal BC Museum Appoints Jack Lohman as New CEO

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Jack Lohman

The Royal BC Museum Board of Directors has named British cultural leader and scholar Jack Lohman as the organization’s new Chief Executive Officer. He will assume his new position on March 26, 2012.

Lohman, Director of the Museum of London since 2002, will succeed retiring CEO Pauline Rafferty, who has led the Royal BC Museum for the past 10 years.

“London’s loss is British Columbia’s gain,” said John Williams, Chair of the Royal BC Museum Board of Directors. “Jack has extensive international experience in building great museums and providing strong leadership in the cultural sector. He has the qualities and skills to lead the Royal BC Museum into its next chapter of growth.”

“The Royal BC Museum is highly regarded as one of Canada’s great cultural treasures. I am delighted to join its distinguished staff at a time of new development and to ensure the Museum reaches the widest possible audiences,” said Lohman.

“The platform for developing the Royal BC Museum as a great and unique cultural asset is huge. Its extraordinary location, collections and expertise provide an opportunity to push out onto a national and international arena and share the important stories it tells,” he added.

Lohman joins the Royal BC Museum at an exciting time as it prepares to welcome two major international touring exhibitions, open its first-ever seasonal satellite museum gallery at the Wing Sang in Vancouver, and continues the major revitalization plan for its two hectare cultural precinct in downtown Victoria.

“Jack’s broad background in architecture and conservation will be very beneficial as the Royal BC Museum moves into the important architectural design phase of our revitalization,” Williams added.

At the Museum of London Lohman directed a five-year, £20million ($32 million Cdn) redevelopment that culminated in May 2010 with the opening of five spectacular new interactive galleries.

A seasoned fundraiser, Lohman also looks forward to working with the Royal BC Museum Foundation on their successful fundraising efforts.

Prior to his post in London, he was the CEO of the Iziko Museums of Cape Town, an organization consisting of 15 national museums including the South African Museum, the South African Maritime Museum and the South African National Gallery. During his time there, Lohman led the creation of a new museum institution and transformed the national museum sector.

Lohman currently teaches Museum Design and Communication at the Bergen National Academy of the Arts in Norway. He is also editor in chief of UNESCO’s publication series Museums and Diversity.

After studying History of Art at the University of East Anglia, Lohman was awarded a scholarship to read architecture at the Freien Universitat in Berlin and later obtained an MA at the University of Manchester. He went on to win a British Council Fellowship Award to study Architecture and Conservation in Warsaw.

“On behalf of the entire Board and Royal BC Museum community, I want to thank Pauline Rafferty for her exceptional leadership and passion in connecting the provincial museum and the provincial archives with British Columbians and visitors from around the world,” said Williams. “After 35 years of public service, we wish her all the best for a long and fulfilling retirement with her family.”