Bishop Museum announced Wednesday the selection of Kristofer Helgen, a scientist and experienced museum administrator, as its new CEO.
He will step into his new role on Aug. 1, replacing Dee Jay Mailer, who completed her three-year contract.
Born in Minnesota, Helgen’s scientific research has concentrated on the Pacific region, with a focus on biodiversity, environmental impact, and conservation, according to a news release. Currently, he is the chief scientist and director of the Australian Museum Research Institute at the Australian Museum in Sydney, where he has overseen 120 research and collections staff.
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Helgen was hired after a 5-month, worldwide search, which drew 50 applicants and was led by Patrick Kirch, a professor of anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, with the help of nonprofit executive search firm Morris & Berger.
“We were delighted to receive a huge response to our search from within and beyond Hawaii,” said Kirch. “Kris stood out in many ways, but especially for his vision regarding the importance of museums in our contemporary world. His strong experience in museum administration combined with outstanding scholarship and research in the natural sciences in and around the Pacific makes him the right choice to lead our museum into the future.”
When Helgen was a student at Harvard University in 2002, he studied the Bishop Museum’s mammal collection. In 2007, he became a Research Associate at the museum, and over two decades helped to re-identify the museum’s mammal specimens. Before joining the Australian Museum, Helgen worked for a decade at the Smithsonian Institution, where he was chief curator of mammals.
The Bishop Museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop in memory of his late wife Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a royal descendant of King Kamehameha I. The museum is an educational center, which perpetuates the history, culture, and environment of Hawaii and the Pacific. Bishop Museum’s collection includes more than 25 million objects and specimens.
