Business
Darren Walker named new president of The Ford Foundation
Darren Walker – Incoming president of the Ford Foundation. PHOTO/Ford Foundation
Darren Walker, who emerged from small-town Texas to an international career in law and finance before becoming a leader in the non-profit and philanthropic worlds, will become the 10th president of the Ford Foundation this September, succeeding Luis A. Ubinas, the foundation’s Board of Trustees announced Thursday.
“In Darren Walker we have found a president of powerful and diverse ability, deeply committed to our mission and tradition of leadership in the social sector,” said Irene Hirano Inouye, chair of the Board of Trustees. “With extensive experience in both the private and non-profit sectors, a strong command of the substance of our work, and an engaging leadership style that relies heavily on collaboration and partnership, he represents the best of all worlds. He’s an excellent leader for a global organization with grassroots sensibilities, and we’re very proud that he emerged from within Ford’s own pool of talent.”
Walker’s appointment follows a broad national and international search that began when Mr. Ubinas announced in March that he would step down after nearly 6 years of service.
“Our search included an extraordinarily high number of strong candidates and we are extremely grateful for the feedback, recommendations and ideas we received from across the world,” Hirano Inouye said.
Walker was recruited by Ubinas in 2010 to serve as vice president for Education, Creativity and Free Expression, one of the foundation’s three major programming areas. Immediately prior to joining the Ford Foundation, he was vice president for foundation initiatives at the Rockefeller Foundation, where he oversaw the execution of a broad range of programs in the United States and internationally.
Prior to joining Rockefeller in 2002, he served as chief operating officer of the Abyssinian Development Corporation, a leading community organization in Harlem. There he guided efforts to develop housing for low and moderate-income families, was involved in two of Harlem’s largest privately financed commercial projects in 30 years, and led the development of the first public school built in New York City by a community organization.
“Leading this institution is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am so very honored and humbled,” Walker told the Ford Foundation staff Thursday morning. “I pledge to work with energy and integrity, to lead while listening and learning, and to give my all in service of our mission: to build a world that is fairer and more just.”
