Jim Karl

Jim Karl has been named the next executive director of the Children’s Museum of Wilmington by the organization’s board of directors.

Karl officially assumed his new role on Nov. 1.

The board said that outgoing executive director, Rick Lawson, will continue his involvement with the museum by concentrating on development, endowment and other long-range planning programs.

"I am incredibly excited to serve as the executive director of the Children's Museum of Wilmington,” Karl said in a news release. “I believe that the most important thing we can do for a child is to help them develop a strong sense of curiosity and thirst to answer the question 'why?' I am thankful for the opportunity to work with the community of Wilmington to provide an environment for children and parents to learn together."

Karl began his career at IBM where he held numerous engineering and management positions throughout the microelectronics development and manufacturing organizations. At the time of his retirement in 2011, he was the client executive for IBM microelectronics’ aerospace and defense business.