The Royal BC Museum (RBCM) has found its new CEO, following a lengthy and “rigorous” international search.

Allison Bond has been named the new chief executive officer and will take over from acting CEO Ry Moran later this spring.

Bond most recently worked as a deputy minister for the B.C. government, a role she’s held for nearly a decade. Before that, she worked as an assistant deputy minister for almost 20 years, as well as in other sectors.

The museum says Bond has decades of experience leading complex public organizations, and is in a good position to lead the RBCM through its next period of change.

“After a comprehensive global search, the board is delighted to welcome Allison Bond as the next CEO of the Royal BC Museum,” said Stan Chung, board chair of the RBCM.

“Allison is the kind of leader who understands change in complex public organizations and builds the partnerships and trust-based relationships to move an organization forward,” he said in a release Thursday.

The museum has seen some turnover in its CEO position beginning in 2021, when former CEO Jack Lohman resigned amid an investigation into concerns about systemic racism at the museum.

The next CEO, Alicia Dubois, was appointed in 2022 and resigned the next year.

In 2023, Tracy Drake was named the acting CEO of the Royal BC Museum for a term that was supposed to end in 2024, but was later extended until December 2025.

After her term ended, Ry Moran was named the latest acting CEO of the museum in January.

Moving forward, the museum says Bond will be overseeing operations at both the Royal BC Museum and BC Archives location in downtown Vcitoria, as well as the new PARC Campus facility in Colwood, which is still under construction.

“I am honoured to join the Royal BC Museum and work alongside its dedicated staff, partners, and communities,” said Bond in a statement. 

“The museum and archives hold the stories of this province and the diversity of the people who call it home,” she said. “I look forward to working with the board, Indigenous partners, and communities throughout British Columbia as the museum continues to evolve.”

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