Interim CEO Caroline Dromaguet named permanent head of Canadian Museum of History

Caroline Dromaguet, the interim CEO of the Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum, will take the helm permanently.

Carole Beaulieu, chair of the Museum of History’s board of trustees, said in appointing Dromaguet as the permanent CEO, the board was celebrating Dromaguet’s creativity and collaborative leadership style.

“We look forward to building the future together.”

Both museums have faced the pressures of the pandemic. The Museum of History faced an investigation into allegations of workplace harassment after a formal complaint was laid in 2020. In April 2021, then-CEO Mark O’Neill, who was the subject of the complaint, resigned two months before his official end date.

A third-party assessment found that while the museum has had great success in results such as attendance and advancing research, bad behaviour was common and “left unchecked,” including incidents of bullying, put-downs, demoralizing behaviour and fear-driven leadership, according to an April 2021 report from the company BDO, which has been made public by the museum.

Dromaguet has 20 years of experience in museum work, ranging from management to international partnerships. She first joined the two museums in 1998. Among other roles, she has served as acting director general of the Canadian War Museum, director of exhibitions, manager of exhibitions and strategic initiatives, and head of exhibition preparation.

In an interview on Monday, Dromaguet said the recommendations of the BDO report have been taken very seriously.

“We have been putting in place processes and policies so that we are working toward this positive work culture,” she said.

Dromaguet said she will be rolling out new strategic directions in January. Part of the strategy will be focused on innovation, technology and engagement and the rights of Indigenous peoples.

“This is really where my focus will be. It will also be to roll out, at the same time, a set of values that have been developed with our staff collaboratively, and just to listen and to bring the museum forward to really become the modern institution that it was ready to become,” she said.

The museum has become more nimble over the course of the pandemic, aiming to think differently about reaching audiences across the country and internationally.

“We really hope to find and develop new ways so that people from all over can engage with us, tell us their stories, consult with our collection more easily, more nimbly and really create that environment of exchanging with Canadians all over,” said Dromaguet.

“It’s providing more opportunities for people wherever they may be to connect with our experts, but also to connect with the objects.”

The BDO assessment of the workforce at the Museum of History involved interviews, an open survey which attracted an 87 per cent response rate, and focus groups. The assessment found that there was a lack of trust in senior leadership and a lack of stability because of a large number of acting positions and unexpected changes to workloads.

Participants described it as a hierarchical and bureaucratic work environment. There was a lack of empowerment coupled with micromanagement.

“Decisions are often overturned even when significant work has been completed,” said the report.

“There is a lack of trust between levels, described as managers being suspicious of staff and upper management being suspicious of management.”

On the positive side, staff felt a sense of loyalty and pride in their work.

“We have been taking the recommendations of that study extremely seriously,” said Dromaguet.

Meanwhile, the War Museum recently launched an exhibition of paintings by Alfred Munnings, who was renowned for his paintings of horses. At the Museum of History, there’s an exhibition that traces 70 years of Canadian children’s television programming.

Coming up this week in a partnership with Library and Archives Canada is an exhibition of “unexpected treasures” — mysterious objects found in the archives, said Dromaguet. Next summer, the War Museum will be presenting an exhibition on war games.

“You will really get to see the expertise of both of our museums shine through,” she said.

Beaulieu said the efforts on programming were built on the work Dromaguet has done on organization and cultural change.

“We are very happy to be in excellent hands,” she said.

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