ABC Executive Announced as New Head of Museums Victoria

The head of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s international arm, Lynley Marshall, has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Museums Victoria, Australia’s largest public museums organisation.

The President of the Museums Board of Victoria, Dr Rufus Black, said Ms Marshall was an outstanding leader who would take up her role in February next year.

Ms Marshall replaces CEO Dr Patrick Greene who retires in February after 15 years as CEO of Museums Victoria.

‘’Ms Marshall has extensive experience as a senior executive at the ABC over the last 16 years including as CEO of ABC International and Director of ABC Commercial,’’ Dr Black said.

‘’She is well positioned to drive a new era for Museums Victoria as we work to make sense of our world and where we are heading and to bring alive for the nation the centrality of science to all our lives and to our future.”

Ms Marshall has also served as a non-executive director of Questacon, the national science museum in Canberra.

Ms Marshall will be the steward of a great national institution with a broad scope. It tells the stories that matter to us, cares for 17 million items that belong to the people of Victoria but are important to the nation and the world and carries out groundbreaking research in the natural sciences and humanities.

She will be the Director of a network of important museums committed to a common goal. Museums Victoria spans the Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks, the Immigration Museum, IMAX Melbourne and the World Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building.

Ms Marshall is the first woman to lead the organisation in its 162-year history.

‘’I am honoured to be offered this opportunity to lead Museums Victoria and to join such a highly skilled and respected team. Dr Greene has provided exemplary leadership, positioning Museum Victoria as one of our leading cultural institutions and establishing a reputation for world leading collections and research,’’ she said.

“I now look forward to working with Dr Rufus Black, the Museums Victoria Board and staff in continuing that legacy. The digital media world and exhibition spaces are becoming increasingly converged and I welcome the opportunity to bring my experiences in connecting audiences to Australian history, culture and science to this new role.’’

Dr Black acknowledged Dr Greene’s contribution to Museums Victoria, which is recognised internationally as a leading cultural and research organisation that attracts 2.1 million visitors each year to its venues.

‘’Dr Greene has led a committed team of hundreds of staff and volunteers who have delivered extensive educational outreach programs and undertaken significant research that has attracted global attention.’’

Highlights include this Sunday’s opening of the new Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery at Melbourne Museum; the success of this year’s popular Jurassic World:The Exhibition at Melbourne Museum which attracted 423,000 visitors; a record 500,000 visitors to Scienceworks in 2016, the opening of the First Peoples exhibition at Melbourne Museum’s Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre in 2013 and the $20 million Royal Exhibition Building restoration project.

Melbourne Museum’s massively popular Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibition in 2011 still holds the national record for the highest number of visitors (796,000) to any Australian museum or gallery exhibition.

For further information contact:

Carolyn Jones
External Relations Manager, Museums Victoria
P: 03 8341 7153 | M: 0478 305 884 | E: cjones@museum.vic.gov.au