The Daniels Fund will start its search for a new president next month, exiting chief executive Hank Brown said Tuesday during a meeting with The Denver Post.
Brown, who has headed the charitable foundation of about $1 billion since 2002, will step down in August to become the acting president at the University of Colorado.
Brown, 65, said he is confident that the fund’s nine-member board of directors will find a suitable successor.
“It’s such a wonderful job that we will likely have a lot of folks interested,” he said.
The fund, started in 1997 by cable television magnate Bill Daniels, provided grants and scholarships in Denver and across the Rocky Mountain region totaling $34 million in 2004. The money mostly went to combat alcoholism and homelessness and to improve education and ethics.
Brown said his replacement could come from Daniels’ current crop of administrators but added it is the type of job “where you (often) recruit someone.”
The board is scheduled to discuss the process for finding Brown’s replacement at a May 9 meeting, said fund spokesman Peter Droege.
Brown, a former Republican U.S. senator and congressman, said the biggest hurdle in naming a successor will be finding someone who can meet the high standards set by the board.
“It’s a job that demands high performance,” Brown said.
Brown said it is unlikely he would return to Daniels after his post at CU. “To get the right person (at Daniels), you’d need to hire them permanently.”
Potential candidates also will need management experience, a good reputation and the ability “to carry out Bill’s mission,” Brown said.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-820-1473 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
$1 BILLION
Assets managed by the Daniels Fund, the largest foundation in the Rocky Mountain region
$34 MILLION
Amount of scholarships and grants given in 2004, mostly to combat alcoholism and homelessness and to improve education and ethics
158
Colorado high school students awarded college scholarships from the fund in 2004
Source: The Daniels Fund
