The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is pleased to announce the recent appointment of Atul Tiwari and Ron Graham to the ROM Board of Trustees on October 7, 2009 for a three year term.
“We are fortunate to be getting such talent,” said Sal Badali, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “They will make wonderful contributions to the Museum, providing input in so many areas that are vital to serving Ontario residents and visitors. The Board and the entire institution will be even stronger with them in place.”
“We’re very pleased to welcome Mr. Tiwari and Mr. Graham to the ROM Board as Trustees. Their vast experience in the worlds of business, media and culture will be huge assets in their roles as ROM Trustees. Mr. Tiwari possesses an admirable commitment to his volunteer work, and Mr. Graham’s contribution to the Museum’s Institute for Contemporary Culture has been remarkable,” said William Thorsell, ROM Director & CEO.
Mr. Tiwari has an extensive background in business, law and community involvement. He was employed with BMO Financial Group for over 17 years in progressively senior positions, most recently as Senior Vice-President of BMO Asset Management and President of BMO Exchange Traded Funds. He also served as CEO of BMO’s mutual fund business in Chicago. Mr. Tiwari was called to the Law Society of Upper Canada and to the Supreme Court of England and Wales, and practiced law in London, UK for two years. He is dedicated to volunteering and is currently a Campaign Cabinet Member for the Neshama Universal Playground being built in Toronto to provide universal access to children of all abilities. He is also a Director of DD Foundation providing medical care to the disadvantaged in India and a Campaign Cabinet Member for the Building Osgoode Campaign. Mr. Tiwari is a past President and Director of the Osgoode Hall Law School Alumni Association.
Mr. Graham was born in Ottawa and grew up in Montreal. He received a B.A. from McGill University and an M.A. from the Institute of Canadian Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa. Before beginning his career as a journalist and author, he traveled extensively throughout North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia and lectured in Canadian history and Quebec politics at Vanier College, Montreal.
In the late 70s Mr. Graham was employed as a researcher, off-camera interviewer, and associate producer for the CBC-TV documentary series, "The Canadian Establishment," a six-hour examination of Canadian business, which was televised in l980 and won several television awards. In the 80s he became a regular contributor and associate editor with Saturday Night magazine in Toronto. Several of his articles won National Magazine Awards and other honours in Canadian journalism. His subjects included profiles of Jean Chrétien, John Turner, Joe Clark, and Cardinal Carter.
Since then Mr. Graham has written feature articles on a variety of subjects for magazines such as Toronto Life (of which he is currently a contributing editor), the Globe and Mail's Report on Business and Canadian Art. He has also written for The Globe and Mail, the New York Times and other newspapers, and he frequently participates as a political and social analyst on Canadian radio and television. His books include One-Eyed Kings, an award-winning bestseller about Canadian politics in the first half of the l980s; God’s Dominion; The French Quarter; and All the King’s Horses. In addition, he served as English-language editor of Straight from the Heart and My Years as Prime Minister, the memoirs of Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien. He was also the English-language interviewer for the television memoirs of former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
Mr. Graham is currently Chair of the Institute for Contemporary Culture at the ROM and a trustee of the Trudeau Foundation.
The ROM is an agency of the Government of Ontario. The Board of Trustees is the governing authority for the Museum, responsible for its policies, its operational continuity and the collections and other assets which the Museum holds in trust for the people of Ontario. The Board consists of 21 Trustees - 15 are appointed, three are ex-officio members and three are elected by ROM members. The provincial government makes appointments through the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Trustees are volunteers who are dedicated to public service and the ROM’s well-being and long-term stability.