Kathryn Thomson appointed chief executive of National Museums Northern Ireland
Role begins on 1 March
Kathryn Thomson has been appointed chief executive of National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI).
NMNI consists of the Ulster Museum, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, and Ulster American Folk Park.
Thomson is currently the chief operating officer at Tourism NI, and prior to that was its director of finance and business planning. Before that she worked in the senior finance team at NHS Greater Glasgow, primarily involved in business and financial planning.
Thomson’s post at NMNI will begin on 1 March.
She takes over from acting chief executive Jude Helliker, who took up the role following former chief executive Tim Cooke’s resignation in November 2014.
An investigation by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure Northern Ireland begun at that time "identified a number of procedural recommendations" that were accepted by the NMNI board and implemented, said a government spokesman.
Thomson's chief challenge will be allocating resources and finding revenue in a climate of decreasing government funding, from £14.5m in 2011-12 to £11.4m in 2015-16, with further cuts likely to come.
NMNI consists of the Ulster Museum, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, and Ulster American Folk Park.
Thomson is currently the chief operating officer at Tourism NI, and prior to that was its director of finance and business planning. Before that she worked in the senior finance team at NHS Greater Glasgow, primarily involved in business and financial planning.
Thomson’s post at NMNI will begin on 1 March.
She takes over from acting chief executive Jude Helliker, who took up the role following former chief executive Tim Cooke’s resignation in November 2014.
An investigation by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure Northern Ireland begun at that time "identified a number of procedural recommendations" that were accepted by the NMNI board and implemented, said a government spokesman.
Thomson's chief challenge will be allocating resources and finding revenue in a climate of decreasing government funding, from £14.5m in 2011-12 to £11.4m in 2015-16, with further cuts likely to come.