Join Stephan Jost, AGO Michael and Sonja Koerner Director, and CEO, and Josh Basseches, director and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), for a conversation on the role of museums.

Josh Basseches became the director and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in 2016, bringing with him more than two decades of experience transforming museums, enriching visitor experience, and guiding international initiatives. Prior to ROM, Basseches was deputy director of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, and executive director of the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Basseches is completing a doctorate in art history at Boston University. He holds an M.A. in art history from Boston University, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and a B.A. in Art History from Amherst College.

Stephan Jost became the director of the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2016. Following his appointment, Stephan demonstrated immediate leadership by thoughtfully exploring the AGO’s visitorship, collection and key strengths in order to strategically focus on three mission-aligned areas: art, access and learning. He has overseen the revitalization of several key areas in the Gallery, helped clarify new audience target segments; and launched Look:Forward, a major reinstallation of the AGO’s remarkable Collection.