Meg Beckel is an experienced leader in the university, museum and performing arts sectors. Her skills and experience include senior administration, succession planning, fundraising, finance and operations, brand strategy, strategic planning, board governance, change management and construction project management. Meg has championed and led transformational changes in the national organizations she has served and with her success, earned a reputation for being direct, transparent, committed, honest, tenacious and fair. She has also managed to maintain a sense of humour throughout.
Since retiring from full time work Meg has advised federal agencies, departmental corporations and Indigenous organizations on strategic reviews, business planning, organizational design, CEO performance management, succession planning and construction project planning and oversight. Meg also continues to serve on a number of non-profit and international NGO boards and forums.
While President & CEO of the Canadian Museum of Nature for 11 years, a significant structural deficit was eliminated through new revenue generating programs, a new brand framework, a new value-based pricing structure and a business case approach to public program planning and research and collections management were established. Earned revenue grew 150% over seven years and the number of touch points with in-person and digital visitors grew by 2 million per year. During her tenure Meg led the development of the Museum’s first Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access framework and its first Indigenous Engagement framework. During her tenure Meg established an alliance of Arctic Council natural history museums, enhanced the Museum’s role on national and international professional associations and encouraged the establishment of two scientific research centres focused on Arctic Knowledge and Species Discovery. The Museum also re-established its position as Canada’s museum representative within international forums such as IUCN, GBIF, IPBES, CBD, UNEP and the Arctic Council.