Retains global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to lead search
Richmond, VA – World Pediatric Project (WPP) has begun a national search for a new, permanent Chief Executive Officer.
The WPP Executive Board has appointed a search committee to conduct the search. The committee is chaired by Dr. Donna Brown, a long-time WPP medical volunteer, pediatric ophthalmologist, and executive board member. The other members of the committee include John Lancaster, Todd Purdy, and Richard Kelly.
To lead the search, World Pediatric Project is working with the global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles and its social impact executive search practice, which specializes in helping philanthropic, healthcare, academic and non-profit clients find new leadership. Those interested in applying or nominating should contact WPPCEO@Heidrick.com.
Interim CEO Brian Shaw has informed the Executive Board of his hope to retire this summer and plan to remain in the role until a new permanent CEO is recruited and in place. Shaw became interim CEO in April 2020 upon the retirement of former CEO Susan Rickman.
“When Susan retired last April and the board asked Brian to step into the interim role, he told us at the time that he would not be a candidate for the permanent CEO role,” said Dr. Brian Clare, chair of WPP’s executive board of directors. “As we begin to emerge from the global pandemic, armed with a new strategic plan for the future that Brian and the WPP leadership team have put in place, the board feels the time is right to launch the search for the permanent CEO.”
“This is an exciting time for WPP,” Dr. Clare said. “While the last year has been challenging for everyone during the global pandemic, including our WPP family, we have used this time to plan for the future. We are prepared to pick up where we left off and to launch new programs and initiatives that will help us reach more children and families and build deeper health care capacity in the regions where we work. We expect to come back, in many ways, stronger than we were before the pandemic.”
“The new CEO will be stepping into a role that will be poised to take WPP to the next level,” Dr. Clare concluded.
About World Pediatric Project: World Pediatric Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to healing critically ill children and building healthcare capacity in the world. Since 2001, WPP has mobilized pediatric diagnostic and surgical teams to low-resource countries in Central America and the Caribbean, in addition to treating children with complex surgical needs through partner hospitals in the United States and internationally.
