March 22, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
Chicago—
This year’s annual conference of the Association of Fundraising Professionals was the last one to be led by Paulette Maehara, who is retiring after 13 years. Beginning Wednesday, her post will be assumed by Andrew Watt, who until now was the association’s chief program officer.
Some people might think Mr. Watt’s selection was a sign the association didn’t lead an extensive search, but the opposite is true, says Bob Carter, a fund-raising consultant and chair-elect of the association’s board.
Assisted by Korn/Ferry International, the executive search firm, the association evaluated 300 applicants, Mr. Carter said. Those were whittled to 14 fund raisers who participated in online interviews and assessments.
The association then selected eight candidates for face-to-face interviews. Four of those candidates were later asked to make an in-person presentation about how the association could collaborate with other organizations to enhance the fund-raising profession.
From those presentations, the board selected two finalists and finally chose Mr. Watt, said Mr. Carter. He says that he told his colleagues involved in the search: “Don’t fall in love too fast with any candidate or we’ll be doing this again in a few months.”
