Dr Bennington is the Chief Executive of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
He is a New Zealander who took up his appointment at Te Papa in January 2003 after being Director of the Carnegie Science Centre in Pittsburgh in the United States, where he had been since 1994. Prior to that he was Chief Executive of the Scitech Discovery Centre in Perth, Head of the Division of Professional Services at the Western Australian Museum, Director of the City Gallery Wellington, and Director of the Otago Early Settlers Museum in Dunedin.
Dr Bennington has a PhD in Zoology from the University of Canterbury, and has also studied at university level art history, anthropology, New Zealand history, and Māori studies. He had a year working with Volunteer Service Abroad in Western Samoa in 1966.
Dr Bennington’s vision for Te Papa is that as 'our place' it is both a place in Wellington and a part of people's lives throughout New Zealand that provides understanding and inspiration about cultural achievements and our natural environment.