Friday, October 8 - 9:30 to 10:15am

As former President and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum, William Thorsell  led the museum's Renaissance ROM project from 2000 to its final completion in 2010. This major project saw the construction or renovation of more than 350,000 squarefeet of gallery space, education facilities, and public amenities, and included renovation of several significant heritage buildings and the construction of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. Plans included the creation of twenty-seven new galleries consistent with the ROM's joint mandates of World Cultures and Natural History.

Prior to his appointment at the ROM, Thorsell served as Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail for 10 years, where he led the newspaper through a complete redesign. During his tenure, The Globe's staff of 320 won significant awards for design, journalistic excellence, public service and marketing. As a member of The Globe's editorial board between 1984 and 2000, Mr. Thorsell specialized in national politics, law and constitution, economics and culture.

Mr. Thorsell lives in Toronto and in the Township of Mulmur in Dufferin County, Ontario, and continues to write as an occasional contributor to The Globe and Mail.

Dr. Victor Rabinovitch is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, which is responsible for Canada’s largest museum (the Canadian Museum of Civilization) and the national museum of military history (the Canadian War Museum). During his ten years of cultural leadership in this position, the Museums have dramatically expanded their range of public exhibitions, their audiences and their research collections.

Previously, Dr. Rabinovitch served as an Assistant Deputy Minister in various federal departments, such as Canada’s Old Age Security Pension Program, and was responsible for international relations at Fisheries and Oceans, as well as cultural policies and programs at the Department of Canadian Heritage, notably in broadcasting, publishing, copyright and museums. 

Before joining the public service, Dr. Rabinovitch was the National Secretary for Health and Safety with the Canadian Labour Congress. He is currently a Fellow of the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University, Chairman of the Friends of the International Council for Canadian Studies and a board member of the City of Gatineau’s Economic Development Corporation.

Dr. Rabinovitch was named CEO of the Year in the para-public sector by the Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la Capitale nationale in 2005. He received the Award of Merit from the Association for Canadian Studies in October 2006 for his outstanding contribution and that of the Canadian Museum of Civilization to the dissemination of knowledge of Canada’s history. He is a frequent speaker and writer on cultural policy, identity and heritage issues for Canadians and for international audiences.