After seven years as director of Germany’s Kunstsammlung NRW—North Rhine-Westphalia’s state art collection—Marion Ackermann, has been appointed general director of Staatliche Kunstsammlung Dresden, (SKD) Dresden’s state art collections.

The 51-year-old art historian will take up her new post on November 1. According to Die Welt Ackermann’s appointment was unanimously approved by the SKD board.

Her new job in Dresden is widely regarded as a stepping stone to the international stage. Former director Martin Roth took over leadership of London’s Victoria & Albert Museum in September 2011, while his successor Hartwig Fischer was appointed director of the British Museum in September 2015.

Before her tenure at the Düsseldorf-based Kunstsammlung NRW, Ackermann served as director of the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart from 2003 to 2009.

During her time in Düsseldorf Ackermann oversaw a number of successful exhibitions including well-received shows on contemporary artists such as Joseph Beuys, Günther Uecker, and Thomas Struth, as well as modern masters including Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, and Piet Mondrian.

Additionally she secured several significant acquisitions including the important collection of the late gallerists Dorothee and Konrad Fischer, and works of American postwar art. She is also credited for increasing the representation of female artists in the museum’s collection.

In a statement, Ackermann said “The enormous variety of the Dresden State Art Collections have persuaded me to bid the wonderful cultural landscape of North Rhin-Westphalia farewell, albeit with a heavy heart.” She added “I now relish the opportunity to bring the 15 collections of top-class art and crafts from many centuries together [in Dresden]”

Dr Ackermann’s outstanding exhibitions has internationally positioned the Kunstsammlung NRW,” North Rhine-Westphalia’s culture minister Christina Kampmann added. “We owe the fact that the Kunstsammlung NRW is one of the top international museum destinations to her extraordinary commitment.”