After a national search for candidates, the board of directors of Conner Prairie announced Jan. 11 they have found the museum’s next president and CEO.

Normal Burns II, of Richmond, Va., will succeed Ellen Rosenthal as president and CEO beginning Jan. 27. Rosenthal officially retired from the museum’s top position Jan. 4.

Burns has more than 28 years of experience in various leadership capacities at historical institutions. He’s currently the executive director at Maymont, a 100-acre property in Richmond, Va., that includes historical buildings, gardens and animal experiences that draws 500,000 annual visitors.

“At the onset of our search, we established several critical priorities that the next president and CEO must meet and we unanimously believe that Norman Burns exceeds those criteria,” Jay Ricker, chairman of Conner Prairie’s board of directors, said. “He considers himself first and foremost a historian and educator and has observed Conner Prairie for years. We look forward to his leadership, expertise and creativity to help guide Conner Prairie’s future.”