George Jacob is a Canadian museum planner, designer, author, and futurist. [1] He served as the president and chief executive officer of Bay Ecotarium in San Francisco from January 2017 to May 2024. [2]
Jacob was born in Kerala, India, and grew up there. [3] [4] He attended the BITS Pilani for a master's degree in Museum Studies [5] and later earned a second master's from the University of Toronto in the same field. He became a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. [6] He also completed a D.Phil. at the Royal Academy of Economics and Technology and obtained executive leadership certifications from Yale School of Management, Singularity University, and the Claremont Graduate University Museum Leadership Institute.
In 2007, Jacob led the production of the Smithsonian's 1812 Star-Spangled Banner exhibit and later helped establish India's Khalsa Heritage Center, a 650,000 sq. ft. museum.
In September 2014, he became the first president and chief executive officer of the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum. He left the position in October 2016. [7] [8]
In 2018, he proposed a $260 million renovation of the Aquarium of the Bay into the Climate Resilience and Ocean Conservation Living Museum in San Francisco. [9] [10] [11]
He has been involved with the International Council of Museums (ICOM USA) and ICOM-ICTOP (International Committee on Training of Museum Professionals). [12]
As of 2019, Jacob has contributed to the planning and design of over 100 museums and exhibits worldwide. [13]