Description

"Shaping the World – Understanding the Future"

Alec Coles has been CEO of the Western Australian Museum since 2010. The WA Museum is the State’s premier scientific and cultural institution with sites in Perth, Fremantle, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, and Albany. Alec was previously director of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums in North East England for eight years. Prior to that, he was CEO of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, a wildlife conservation charity in North East England. Alec is an adjunct associate professor in the School of Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia, an executive member of the Council for Australasian Museum Directors, a board member of the Australian Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences, and former chair of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Australia. He is currently chair of the Participant’s Council of the Western Australian Biodiversity Sciences Institute. He is committed to developing and demonstrating the public value of museums in today’s society. With an aspiration to create a museum that is owned and valued by all West Australians and admired by the world, Alec drove the development of the new WA Museum Boola Bardip, a $400 million redevelopment in the heart of the Perth Cultural Centre. In 2010, Mr. Coles was awarded an OBE for Services to Museums.