Hello Everyone,
I am pleased to let you know that we’ve hired our new Chief, Finance & Operating Officer. This is a very large and important portfolio that comprises Financial Services, Information Technology, Protection Services, Facility Services, and Plant & Building Infrastructure.
Linda Coslovi will be joining the AGO on Monday, September 18th. She holds a CPA designation and is deeply experienced in both finance and operations within the broad corporate and public sectors, including a significant leadership role at McMaster University where she contributed to the construction of two buildings while leading the Faculty of Engineering. Linda is very highly regarded by her peers as an exceptionally talented and sincere leader, adept at supporting and bringing team members together to innovate and solve problems. She is excited about coming to the AGO and I’m confident she’ll be a stellar contributor.
Earlier today I met with Linda’s direct reports to share some background on her. I also thanked them for the amazing job they’ve all been doing in the absence of a permanent CFOO. Our interim CFO, Refat Jiwani, will be available over the next few weeks to help orient Linda and work with me on a couple of projects until he departs the AGO in November. I’m grateful to Refat for the valuable contributions he has made to the AGO since the beginning of the year.
We are still in the market for our new Chief, Brand & Business Officer. I want to make sure we find someone with the right skill set and passion for art. Herman Lo, who has represented Communications & Brand on Leadership Team (LT) for the past few months, will continue to sit on LT until we’ve hired our new person. I should say that Herman’s team is performing very well on all fronts. As you might recall, it is my intention to move Retail and Food & Beverage into the Chief, Brand & Business Officer portfolio so that all aspects of the visitor experience are aligned within the same area. Last week, I decided to move Retail into this area now, rather than wait. Retail is playing a very active role in terms of revenue potential with our upcoming slate of exhibitions, and I want the team to be closer to the work we are doing with our brand revitalization. Carlos Mera, Director of Food & Beverage, will continue to report to Linda in the meantime.
Welcome, Linda!
Take care,
Stephan