Korn Ferry In Hunt for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation CEO

September 23, 2016 – Korn Ferry has been retained by the influential Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to lead its search for a new president and chief executive officer. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey has headed the $10 billion private foundation since 2003.

Established in 1972, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the largest U.S. philanthropy focused solely on health. The foundation’s goal, through the use of grants, is “to improve the health and healthcare of all Americans.” The organization has $9.2 billion in assets, generating grants approaching $400 million a year.

Fred Mann, vice president of communications for the foundation, said the search could take several months. “I think the culture-of-health vision that we’ve had is something that we’re committed to keeping,” he said in describing what the organization seeks in a new leader.

Passionate Leader Sought

Today’s non-profit, philanthropy, and social enterprise sectors are evolving at a rapid pace. And the opportunity to create more meaningful and wider impact is greater than ever, reports Korn Ferry. Keeping mission ahead and at the forefront requires visionary leaders who are agile, strategic, and deeply passionate. Understanding an organization’s cultures and sector mission challenges can be the key to ultimately achieving alignment and building consensus, say recruiters specializing in the field.

Just recently, Korn Ferry recruited Michael S. Linnington as chief executive officer of the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). Based in Jacksonville, FL, WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs.

The importance of understanding what mission-driven organizations actually look for in leaders cannot be understated, and some search firms are setting up practice areas specifically devoted to ferreting them out.

Calibre One is one small, but highly influential search firm that has done just this. This month, the firm launched a ‘purpose-driven’ search practice to be led by partner Venesa Klein and backed by a team of specialists. The new practice is focused on placing senior level executives in organizations seeking to create innovation with meaningful impact. The practice will look beyond traditional performance indicators through extensive candidate assessments to ensure its search strategy is fully aligned with each client’s specific objectives, values and purpose.

Foundations Turn to Recruiters

Various charitable foundations have tuned to executive search firms in recent months to find new leaders. Here is a look at just a few taken from the Hunt Scanlon Media newswire archives:

Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media

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