Darren Walker will step down as president of the $16 billion Ford Foundation by the end of 2025.
Walker has served as president for the past 11 years, said a July 22 release.
The Foundation’s Board of Trustees will oversee the presidential leadership transition process. A search committee composed of trustees Francisco Cigarroa, Ursula Burns, Laurene Powell Jobs, Tom Kempner, Lourdes Lopez, Paula Moreno, and Ai-jen Poo will assist the board with the search process, the release added.
“(Walker) has guided Ford through some of the most challenging moments of our time with grace, kindness, and empathy, and his tenure will be remembered as one of the most consequential periods in the institution’s nearly 90-year history,” said Ford Foundation board chair Cigarroa in the release. “Identifying a successor who can build on Darren’s legacy will be no small task.”
Under Walker's leadership, the Ford Foundation in 2021 said it would divest from fossil fuels and steer assets to additional climate-friendly investments. Instead, the foundation said it would invest in funds that address the threat of climate change, and support the transition to a green economy.
The Ford Foundation in 2017 allocated up to $1 billion to mission-related investments over the ensuing decade.
At the time, Walker said “We are making this commitment because we believe (mission-related investments) have the potential to become the next great innovation for advancing social good."
