My Transition, and a CEO Search

Dear network, I’d love your help in finding the next CEO to take over from Ilaina and me, to build upon nearly a decade of growth, and lead Amani Institute through a great new era of scale and impact. Here’s the JD for the role – please do share it through your networks or with any talented leaders who would enjoy taking on this opportunity! 

If you’ve followed our work at Amani Institute over the last decade, you might wonder why we’re stepping down as leaders and looking for a new CEO. You may even have these questions:

How are things going at Amani Institute?

Very well, in fact! Thanks to a combination of innovating new programs and careful management, we are on track to end this insanely disruptive year in the black. Yes, really! We pivoted to an online version of our flagship Social Innovation Management program, and launched it with one of our biggest classes ever. We’re one year into a four-year partnership with the wonderful Argidius Foundation – who have stood by us steadfastly during the pandemic. Our roster of training clients this year includes the World Wildlife Fund, Rockefeller Foundation, British Council, and UN Women. Our cash reserves are healthy and our brand is solid. 

If Amani Institute is about building a better world for future generations, one way to walk that talk is by bequeathing a strong organization to its next generation of leaders.

So why leave now when times are good?

When I first dreamt of Amani Institute, I never would have imagined the impact we’ve had in supporting the personal and professional growth of changemakers around the world. As a team, we've trained and mentored, to date, over 540 Fellows from 65 countries through our award-winning Certificate in Social Innovation Management (80% of whom are from the global south), about 2500 young African leaders through the YALI initiative in East Africa, and 200+ managers from 60+ businesses in East Africa and India. We have also strengthened the internal capacity of more than 100 organizations across 5 continents, and drawn many thousands of people to events about building a meaningful career in the 21st century. Internally, we now have excellent local leaders in our three countries of operation, as well as a rising set of leaders below them. 

Along with the best co-founder anyone could hope for, it’s now been 10 years at the helm of all this, while living in the USA, Kenya and India at different times across these years. Ten years is a long time in any role, and all organizations benefit from periodic influxes of new thinking and ideas. I’m also well aware of the pervasive issue of “founder syndrome” in the social sector (there’s a lot of one-sided writing on this problem out there – here’s a more balanced discussion).  

On a personal level, I’m looking forward to renewing myself for fresh challenges. Since I teach so often about the “inner journey of the changemaker”, I’m aware I’ve now entered the “Transformation stage” myself - when you come to the end of one life-cycle of work and seek to take all that you have learned into a new one. It is a beautiful phase and I want to use it well to help set Amani Institute up for success.  

But this was not an easy decision to make – it took us over a year to think through. For every hard-nosed business guru who believes that founders have a shelf life, there’s another who believes founders should stay the course indefinitely. Many of the changemakers I most admire have been in their roles for two decades or more – and they attribute the stamina and perseverance needed to do that as a key reason for their success. They ignored the nagging inner voice that told them to quit when times got tough. Being aware of this impulse was one of the biggest temptations to stay. And yet, as I listened closely to my own inner voice, a whisper slowly became louder, and I knew it was time. 

Where are you going next?

Nowhere just yet. Both Ilaina and I have committed the next 9-12 months to transition from our executive roles as gracefully as we can, onboard the new CEO - and take some time off! We are also writing a book about Amani Institute and the field of impact careers – stay tuned! Beyond that, we will stay on the Board of Directors to support the organization’s growth into the 2020s. We remain deeply committed to Amani Institute’s long-term success. 

How are you feeling now?

Mixed emotions, for sure. But mostly: gratitude beyond belief. There are many “birth moments” in any organization’s story but the one that I’m reminded of today is spending my 31st birthday evening alone in my studio apartment in Washington, D.C., gazing out at the glittering lights and all those famous monuments, taking a deep breath, and starting to write the script for what would be our first introduction video. That video, about a forthcoming peacebuilding university, is terribly outdated now. But looking back to what I was thinking on that lonely evening, and casting my mind through all the life-changing experiences and amazing relationships I’ve formed in the 10 years since, provides a wonderful reminder of the seductive possibility of social entrepreneurship: you can breathe a world into existence. And then see others lead it forward. 

Know a good candidate to lead Amani Institute? Please share this JD with them!