Sydney Jewish Museum reveals its new CEO

The CEO of the Australian National Maritime Museum has been appointed to succeed Norman Seligman as CEO of the Sydney Jewish Museum.

The President of the Sydney Jewish Museum, Professor Gus Lehrer, together with its Board,  the Museum has appointed Kevin Sumption that after an extensive worldwide search.

Kevin, who is well known in Museum circles, is currently the CEO and a Director of the Australian National Maritime Museum, where he has served for almost 10 years with great distinction. Prior to that role, he was the Director of Exhibitions and Programmes at the Royal Museum, Greenwich in London, and held positions at the Powerhouse Museum and at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Kevin succeeds Norman Seligman, who has served as CEO of the SJM for almost 20 years, and who has made an enormous contribution to its growth and redevelopment. During Norman’s tenure, the reputation of the SJM as a world-class Holocaust Museum and educational institution has been significantly enhanced.

Professor Lehrer commented that Kevin was the best candidate in an outstanding field, which reflects well on the esteem in which the SJM is held in the community at large. The Board of the SJM is confident that under Kevin’s leadership, the SJM will reach a new level in its mission to educate the community about the history of the Holocaust and Personal Responsibility, as mandated by its founders, who were Holocaust Survivors.

President Gus Lehrer told J-Wire: “Kevin is one of the top three or four museum people in the country. So it’s actually a great feather in the cap of the museum that we’ve managed to attract someone of his calibre.

Gus Lehrer said that there had been a very very strong field of candidates. He added: “I regard the strength of that field, as a tribute to the position of the Sydney Jewish Museum in our community.”

Norman Seligman will remain at the museum taking over the position of Director of Development. He said: “I will stay on a part-time capacity handling major fundraising for the Museum and the recently established SJM Foundation.”

After completing his responsibilities at the ANMM, Kevin will commence in his new role at the SJM in February 2022.