Community Foundations Australia appoints Ian Bird as its new Chief Executive Officer

The Board of Community Foundations Australia is delighted to announce the appointment of Ian Bird as Chief Executive Officer, commencing mid-October. The appointment results from a thorough and thoughtful process undertaken by the CFAustralia Board and executive search firm Fisher Leadership.

Ian brings to CFA a depth of experience in community foundation development and leadership from his current role as chair of the Global Fund for Community Foundations and formerly as the President & CEO of Community Foundations of Canada.

In his role leading the Canadian peak organisation, he oversaw a transformation of the field from an association of collegial, independent actors to a network of purpose, working together and with other sectors on domestic and global priorities as diverse as Reconciliation with Indigenous communities, expanding the field of social finance, fostering community capacity for refugee relocation, shifting patterns in giving and philanthropy, and extending the role of public partnerships with and for under-represented communities.

‘We are thrilled to benefit from Ian’s innovative thinking, his compassion, and global perspective at this important juncture. A creative and visionary peak body is crucial to stewarding the Australian network through this period of growth,’ says Community Foundations Australia Acting Chair Diane Bray AM. ‘We have set an ambitious agenda for ourselves that comes from our commitment to bridging community leadership with global perspectives. Ian’s track record attests to meeting people where they are and helping them see what is possible.’

‘Australia is on the cusp of the most important developments in community philanthropy,’ says Ian Bird. ‘It is not simply the pending expansion of the community foundation network but also the shift in its ethos that is already underway. This is a place where community trust and assets are coming to the forefront in new ways, giving voice to new leaders and priority to new practices. I didn’t want to miss out and can’t wait to get things underway.’

Ian is a former Olympian in hockey, having represented Canada at the Summer Olympics in Sydney (2000) and Seoul (1988). He is a member of the Wasan Network, co-founder of the Chelsea Commons Land Trust, past chair of the Child and Nature Alliance and a director of the Community Forward Fund. A Vancouver native, he and his partner, Kristin, raised three children in the Gatineau Hills and will be relocating to Melbourne, Victoria.

Ian’s appointment

Click here for Ian’s full biography.

For inquiries contact:

(03) 9362 2147

info@cfaustralia.org.au