Royal Ontario Museum Announces Appointment of Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

TORONTO, August 6, 2020 – Josh Basseches, Director & CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), announced today the appointment of Lori Davison as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer. In this role, Davison will lead the Museum’s brand strategy, with responsibility for the ROM’s Marketing, Communications, Visitor Experience, Membership, Promotions, French-language services, and Research teams.

“Lori is a highly accomplished marketing executive, recognized for her creative leadership and strategic vision,” says Basseches. “Her track record of developing bold, innovative, and award-winning work has been transformative for organizations and their brands. Lori will play an important role in our ongoing mission to continue to build the ROM brand, deepen and broaden audience engagement, and expand our global presence as one of the world’s leading cultural institutions.”

Most recently, Davison led brand strategy and communications for SickKids Foundation at the Hospital for Sick Children. In that role, she was responsible for the development and launch of the ground-breaking SickKids VS brand campaign, which helped reshape the culture of the organization and has contributed $1.1 billion in fundraising revenue to date. Previously, she held senior roles at leading advertising agencies including Leo Burnett and BBDO, where she oversaw a diverse roster of clients such as GE, Fed Ex, RBC, TD Bank, as well as the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Among other accolades, Davison was named Top Marketer of the Year by Strategy Magazine in 2018, and she was honoured as Canada’s Marketer of the Year by the Canadian Marketing Association in 2017.

“The ROM has long been an important destination for learning and inspiration for visitors from here and around the world,” says Davison. “With a new strategic plan in place, the ROM is poised to become an even more powerful cultural force inside and outside its own walls. I am excited to be part of the team realizing this vision of a dynamic 21^st century museum. I see a tremendous opportunity for Marketing and Communications to help achieve that.”

Davison will assume the role on August 24, 2020, upon the retirement of Sandy Bourne. During her six-year tenure at the ROM, Bourne’s leadership helped contribute to the Museum’s strong attendance growth and the successful run of exhibitions including Tattoos, Chihuly, Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story and Christian Dior, among other programmatic and research initiatives undertaken by the Museum.

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ROM Contact
ROM Communications
media@rom.on.ca

ABOUT THE ROM
Opened in 1914, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) showcases art, culture, and nature from around the globe and across the ages. One of North America's most renowned cultural institutions, Canada's largest museum is home to a world-class collection of more than 12 million objects and specimens, featured in 40 gallery and exhibition spaces. As the country’s preeminent field research institute and an international leader in new and original findings in biodiversity, palaeontology, earth sciences, the visual arts, material culture, and archaeology, the ROM plays a vital role in advancing our global understanding of the artistic, cultural, and natural world. The Renaissance ROM expansion project (2007) merged the iconic architectural heritage of the original building with the Studio Daniel Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. A distinctive new symbol of Toronto for the 21st century, the Lee-Chin Crystal marked the beginning of a new era for the ROM as the country's premier cultural and social destination.