SPECIAL UPDATE

A Message from the Board...

Please join the RBC Place London Board in extending best wishes to Lori Da Silva, General Manager and CEO of RBC Place London who has announced that she will retire in 2024.

We are sharing this message with mixed emotions as we are excited for Lori and saddened for the corporation. We do know, however, that Lori will continue to champion both RBC Place London and our city as a great visitor destination. Lori’s last official day at the helm of RBC Place London will be June 28, 2024.

Lori joined the London Convention Centre Corporation in January 2006, and immediately got to work building a team focused on the people who meet and work at RBC Place London. Within her first few years leading the team, RBC Place London became operationally self-sufficient, with the City investment annually directed to the capital reserve. She helped to shape the building itself with large capital projects like the ballroom refurbishment in 2009, followed by a complete renovation of the first floor in 2015/16, which repositioned the venue as a modern gathering place.

In 2022, Lori secured federal funding to update the technology supports within the facility and renovate the King St patio into the beautiful outdoor event space it is today. The naming partnership established in 2019 between the London Convention Centre and RBC was another great accomplishment. Becoming RBC Place London, as the venue is known today, was a significant strategic move spearheaded by Lori.

During her tenure, Lori supported the community and region serving as the first Board Chair of the inaugural Southwestern Ontario Tourism Corporation and on the Board of Downtown London. Most recently, Lori has been serving on the Board of Convention Centres of Canada. 

Team member and guest satisfaction have increased substantially over the past 18 years under Lori’s direction, and in 2023, our first full year of post-COVID recovery, the venue enjoyed record revenue and generated an economic impact of over $22 million for the city. Lori’s legacy is one of impressive accomplishments for RBC Place London. 

We know when Lori departs, she is leaving London’s best hospitality team in place, confident that the venue and guests are in great hands. The Board of Directors wishes Lori much joy, and a little down-time in this next chapter, as she plans to explore new interests, travel, and spend more time with her two beautiful grandsons.

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