Hello everyone,

I am writing to share that after nearly 14 years of amazing accomplishments and collaboration, Lisa Clements, Chief, Communications & Brand, has decided to leave the AGO.  

Those of you who know Lisa well will not be surprised that this decision did not come easily, given her extraordinary commitment to the AGO and fierce work ethic. Her large portfolio has been particularly demanding over these past few years and now that she has a full team in place (finally!), Lisa has decided to take some time for herself to consider the next phase of her impressive career. Big kudos to Lisa for building a truly stellar team, all of whom serve the critical functions of telling our story and advancing our Audience and Brand strategies. People have always been at the heart of Lisa’s approach to her work, and having the best people in place for these roles is the key reason why Lisa has decided to step away and focus on life outside of the AGO.

Some of the highlights that stand out during Lisa’s tenure include:

• Maintaining excellent government relations, resulting in ongoing stable funding from the AGO’s biggest funder, the provincial government
• Working with neighbourhood leaders to help revitalize Grange Park
• Leading the crowd-funding initiative for the acquisition of Kusama’s Let’s Survive Forever
• Launching the Insider, the AGO’s weekly newsletter that reaches approximately 235,000 people (close to the circulation of The Globe & Mail newspaper)
• Launching the Annual Pass, an initiative that has helped make the AGO more accessible and shift our audience to better reflect the people who live in our city
• With Leadership Team, helping to guide the AGO through the pandemic and keep our staff and visitors safe
• Re-building our business efforts post-COVID
• Announcing the exciting news of the Dani Reiss Modern & Contemporary Gallery

On a personal note, I have benefited immensely from Lisa’s advice since arriving at the AGO 7 years ago. Lisa is truly a person of integrity, and I have deep respect for her honesty and directness. She leads with her own personal values and high expectations for herself – a very high bar, indeed. I’m enormously grateful for everything that Lisa has contributed to the AGO and wish her well in every respect.

Lisa will be here for the next 3 weeks on a full-time basis and then on a consulting bases for a couple of months to help out during this transition period. You will hear more from me soon about interim leadership in Lisa’s absence so stay tuned.

Thank you, Lisa!

Stephan