By Muskan Arora
Darren
Walker, the president of $16bn Ford Foundation will step down from his role by
the end of 2025.
He
has been in the role for 11 years, as per the July 22nd press
release.
The
board, along with the search committee which includes Francisco Cigarroa, Ursula Burns,
Laurene Powell Jobs, Tom Kempner, Lourdes Lopez, Paula Moreno, and Ai-jen Poo, will support the search process.
“Identifying a successor
who can build on Darren’s legacy will be no small task,” said Ford Foundation
board chair Cigarroa in the release.
Under Walker’s
leadership, the foundation announced in 2021 that it would divest from fossil
fuels and steer assets to additional climate-friendly investments. Additionally,
the foundation was keen to address the threats of climate change and support
the green economy transition.
Prior to working as a
president at the foundation, Walker has also served as vice president focusing
on education, creativity and free expression at the foundation for three years.
Before joining the
foundation, he worked as a director of the US Program at The Rockefeller Foundation
for four years and thereafter got promoted to the role of vice president for
the foundation’s initiatives division, a role where he worked for five years.
In the beginning of his career, he also worked as a chief operating
officer at Abyssinian Development Corporation and Associate of the Capital
Markets at Union Bank of Switzerland.
