President and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation Ronn Richard announced plans to retire in the second half of 2023.
Richard began working as president and CEO of the foundation on July 1, 2003. He will end his tenure as the second-longest serving head of the foundation, according to the news release, behind Leyton E. Carter, who held the position from 1928 to 1953.
"I leave knowing our organization has accomplished a great deal," he said in an emailed statement, "and I know the foundation’s future is bright."
In his time as president and CEO, the Cleveland Foundation lead initiatives to transform public education which increased high school graduation rates, helped launch Say Yes to Education Cleveland with a $40 million grant and $52 million in raised funds and doubled the foundation’s endowment to more than $3.2 billion.
“Ronn will leave a remarkable legacy as president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation,” Chairperson of the Cleveland Foundation Board of Directors Constance Hill-Johnson said in the release. “His term has been marked by a multitude of successes and achievements that have put us in a solid position, with strong programs and partnerships and a record endowment."
The foundation hired a transition consultant that will work with a committee of the Cleveland Foundation Board of Directors to guide it in selecting Richard's successor, according to the release. There is not yet a timeline established for filling the position.
"I have pledged to the Board that I will do everything I can to make the transition to new leadership as seamless as possible," Richard said. "I look forward to welcoming our next president and CEO and helping that individual begin the work that will take the Cleveland Foundation to new heights."
In the coming months, Richard said he will focus on opening the foundation's new headquarters in MidTown and breaking ground on the MidTown Collaboration Center, both of which are projects spearheaded by Richard.
“Together, we have accomplished so much over the past 20 years," he said in the news release, "and I have no intention of slowing our momentum as I prepare to retire.”
