Griffith Group Recruits New CEO for the Public Policy Forum
December 4, 2024 – Following an extensive national search, Toronto-based executive recruitment firm Griffith Group Executive Search has assisted in the recruitment of Inez Jabalpurwala as president and CEO of the Public Policy Forum. Jane Griffith, managing partner and founder, and Caroline McLean, partner, led this important assignment. Ms. Jabalpurwala succeeds Edward Greenspon, who over the past nine years helped build PPF’s reputation as one of Canada’s most respected and established think tanks. She starts on January 6.
“As one of Canada’s sharpest policy minds and most creative, inspiring leaders, Inez Jabalpurwala will help this organization scale new heights,” said André Beaulieu, chairman of PPF’s board of directors. “We are thrilled she has agreed to lend her considerable talents to this important work.”
Ms. Jabalpurwala is currently the global director of VINEx, a brain health research organization, is a distinguished leader in public policy and non-profit management. She built VINEx during the pandemic to explore how SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses impact brain health, including Long COVID. After co-leading the development of a pan-Canadian action plan to address Long COVID, Ms. Jabalpurwala broadened VINEx’s focus to better understand how the environment impacts our health. She is also co-leader of the Brain Health Nexus, a multidisciplinary effort to unleash science and technology to optimize brain health and prevent brain disease.
Prior to these positions, Ms. Jabalpurwala was founding president and CEO of the Brain Canada Foundation from 2001 to 2020, building a globally recognized health charity that brought together fragmented research and policy communities, and accelerated Canada’s excellent research on the brain. Under her leadership, Brain Canada raised more than $130 million, initiated and executed more than 100 partnerships across sectors and disbursed more than $250 million in grants.
“Experience working at the intersection of a range of disciplines and across sectors fueled my appreciation of the importance of policy interconnections,” Ms. Jabalpurwala said. “My work on brain health was an entry point to a deeper understanding of the environment, climate change, AI, data science, economic growth and increased productivity — many of the same issues of concern to PPF.
“I’m also passionate about raising awareness of the consequences of socio-economic inequities and biases in the evidence we gather,” she said. “Most important, I am an advocate for a human-centered approach: If you want to serve people, you have to care about them, value their voices — and find solutions that lift everyone.”
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The Public Policy Forum builds bridges among diverse participants in the policymaking process and works with them to examine issues, offer new perspectives and feed fresh ideas into policy discussions. It is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization and a registered charity. PPF’s members include a broad base of private, public, non-profit and Indigenous organizations who share insight on policy challenges and developments.
Building Leadership Teams
Founded by Jane Griffith in 2021, Griffith Group is a retained executive search firm focused on senior-level recruitment for academic, not-for-profit, and broader public organizations across Canada. The firm is committed to supporting, championing, and advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Griffith Group is 100 percent owned by Ms. Griffith, who identifies in two equity-seeking categories, and is a certified diverse supplier company, through WBE Canada. WBE Canada certifies Canadian B2B businesses that are at least 51 percent owned, managed, and controlled by women. Griffith Group is also a member of the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and a signatory of the BlackNorth Initiative, and of the federal government’s 50-30 Challenge.
Griffith Group Retained by Jack.org to Lead CEO Search
Griffith Group Executive Search has been retained by Jack.org to lead in its search for a new CEO. The search firm is a seeking a highly regarded and respected leader who has held progressively senior leadership roles from an organization of similar size and complexity. Reporting to the board of directors, the president and CEO will shape and implement Jack.org ‘s long-term strategic and annual plans, which are designed to enhance current activities, outline an approach to advocacy that leverages the “ youth voice,” and build upon existing organizational strengths in programming and national representation.
Ms. Griffith is a veteran search leader. She is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer on hiring practices, with a specific focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives. She has spoken at conferences across Canada and at the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto. Prior to founding Griffith Group, Ms. Griffith was a partner and national diversity leader with three national and global search firms. She also founded Griffith Research, with clients in Australia, Dubai, Canada, and the U.S.
Ms. McLean has expertise in the executive search process, with experience supporting a breadth of clients across the non-profit, post-secondary education, and healthcare sectors. She brings nearly a decade of experience in executive search for academic, non-profit, and public institutions, advising on appointments for administrative leaders, senior-level executives, and subject matter experts across Canada, the U.K. and continental Europe.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
