News Releases

William Thorsell new CEO

TORONTO (June 7, 2000) – The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) today announced the appointment of William Thorsell as Chief Executive Officer of the organization, effective August 1, 2000. Thorsell will lead the Museum in its mission to be a world leader in communicating its research and collections to diverse audiences and build understanding of human cultures and the natural world.

“We are delighted that William, a respected business leader, journalist and editor, has taken on the new challenge of leading our organization,” said Steve Lowden, Chair, ROM Board of Trustees. “He brings both excellent leadership skills and intellectual integrity to the Museum at a time when public institutions continue to face challenges in reduced public funding and increased dependence on private sector support.”

“Thorsell was selected for his strong leadership skills and for the excellent parallels that exist between the newspaper industry and a cultural organization,” said Lowden.
“William’s experience at the Globe was remarkably applicable,” he added. “A newspaper and a museum are each about discovery and communicating ideas.”

Thorsell joins the ROM from the Globe and Mail, where he currently holds the position of Chairman of the Editorial Board. For ten years, he established his leadership reputation as the Editor-in-Chief of the Globe and Mail in Toronto. He began his career in journalism as an Associate Editor at the Edmonton Journal and was also an Assistant Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs at Princeton University.

“I am excited about the opportunity of working at the ROM,” said Thorsell. “As one of Canada’s leading cultural institutions, the Museum, with its internationally regarded collections and its pool of talented staff, is recognized as an organization of first rank,” he added.

According to Rob Pritchard, President, University of Toronto, and a member of the search committee, Thorsell will be a remarkable leader of the ROM. “His towering intellect, demonstrated capacity for leadership, passionate commitment to culture and the ROM, and his determination to help secure Toronto’s place among the world’s most exciting cities will all contribute to an exhilarating era for the Museum.”

Over the past three years the ROM has begun an aggressive growth strategy with the addition of 32,000 square feet of new collections, the completion of seven new galleries, and the presention of three major travelling exhibitions. As a result, there has been a significant increase in major gifts and endowments, a higher number of annual memberships sold and a 25% increase in general admissions.

The ROM recently co-produced the largest international exhibit in more than a decade with Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids attracting a record-breaking 460,000 visitors to the Museum and more than $3 million in total sales. This month the world renowned Victoria and Albert Museum’s The Art of the Sikh Kingdoms and the Art Institute of Chicago’s Pritzker Architecture Prize are the featured exhibitions at the Museum.

 

 

Issue date:
June 7, 2000

For more information:
Media Relations
Tel.: 416.586.5547
Fax: 416.586.8022
E-mail: media@rom.on.ca

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