New Director appointed for the Charles Dickens Museum
Cindy Sughrue (left) will leave the Charles Dickens Museum at the end of March 2025. Frankie Kubicki (right) is the appointed successor.
The Charles Dickens Museum is delighted to announce that its current Deputy Director, Frankie Kubicki, will become Director of the Museum in March 2025. Frankie has been with the Museum for eight years, initially as Curator, before progressing to Senior Curator and, latterly, Deputy Director: Programmes & Collections. She follows Cindy Sughrue, who will leave the Museum at the end of March, having served for nearly ten years.
Sandra Lynes Timbrell, Chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees, said, “We are delighted that Frankie will be our new Director. She was the standout candidate for the post and demonstrated a clear vision for the future of the Museum. We are grateful to outgoing Director Cindy Sughrue for her dedication and leadership; she transformed the Museum and, during Covid in particular, worked tirelessly to ensure its continued success. We look forward to working with Frankie when she takes up the role in March 2025 and wish Cindy well for her return to Scotland.”
Frankie Kubicki said, “I am truly delighted and honoured to be stepping into this new role and to be able to help to shape the future of this special place. Charles Dickens is as compelling as he ever has been and the issues and themes that absorbed him remain strikingly relevant. It has been a real pleasure to work with Cindy over the past eight years, during which time, and due to her impressive leadership, the Museum has become increasingly vibrant and vital. I am looking forward to continuing the Museum’s progression as it celebrates its centenary and working with its dedicated staff and Board to lead the Museum into a new chapter.”
Cindy Sughrue said, “I am thrilled for Frankie. She has played a major role in the success of the Museum, from developing our public programmes to assisting with rebuilding a strong staff team as we recovered from the impact of the pandemic. I am delighted that Frankie will be here to take forward the legacy that she helped to shape.”
Speaking about her time at the Museum, Cindy added, “It has been an honour to lead this wonderful Museum through nearly a decade of development, which has included establishing our regular programme of ambitious temporary exhibitions; securing a number of major collection acquisitions; improving and expanding our learning programme and developing a range of income streams to support all of this. We’ve raised some £4.2M for acquisitions and projects, expanded our partnerships, and increased trading income by 65% and visitor numbers by 32%, despite the pandemic setback. All of this would have been impossible without the talented and dedicated team of people who have been part of our Museum over the years. The Museum is stronger than ever.”