Organization:  American Cancer Society (ACS)

Location: ACS is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and ACS CAN is based in Washington, DC. The organization has a presence in communities nationwide. The CEO’s home base is flexible with a regular presence in ATL, DC, and nationally.

Reporting Relationship: Board of Directors

Website: https://www.cancer.org/

The CEO of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the ACS Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) will lead one of the nation’s most important and impactful nonprofit organizations, as well as its influential nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate. This visionary leader will partner with the ACS and ACS CAN Boards to set bold vision and strategic direction, inspire innovation, and provide dynamic leadership both internally and externally to advance ACS’s mission of ending cancer as we know it for everyone.

The CEO will collaborate with the Boards to shape and implement the organization’s strategic plan and ensure ACS’s and ACS CAN’s short- and long-term fiscal health. This leader will also play a critical role in driving impactful cancer programs and initiatives, and in fundraising, ensuring a successful capital campaign, cultivating major donors, and optimizing responsive digital channels to maximize sustainable revenue generation.

The CEO will oversee the leadership and management of ACS and ACS CAN, developing, inspiring, diversifying, and energizing the staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders on this journey to ensure the continued success and impact of the organization. They will foster a culture of collaboration, inclusion, shared accountability, and mission focus.

As the primary representative and spokesperson and organizational steward, the CEO will build, strengthen, and sustain energizing relationships with volunteers, researchers, donors, healthcare organizations, policy makers, and the media. The CEO will also work to attract a new generation of supporters to fuel ACS’s mission.

The American Cancer Society exists because the burden of cancer is unacceptably high. We are committed to ending cancer as we know it, for everyone. Through our mission pillar work in advocacy, research, and patient support, along with our development efforts, we are working to reduce these cancer disparities and advance health equity. We leverage our more than 110 years of expertise to invest in groundbreaking cancer research, sustain and grow vital patients, caregivers, and clinician support programs, and advocate for legislative priorities that help reduce the impact of cancer for people in every community. We challenge ourselves to expand our reach, better amplify the many ways our work impacts the people we serve and find new ways to help ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer.

ACS and ACS CAN rely on the strength of 1.3 million dedicated volunteers. From volunteers who impact national and local policies, to community volunteers who organize patient support programs and fundraising activities, the Society’s volunteers, supported by our workforce, drive every part of the mission.

Discovery: Since 1946, the American Cancer Society has been funding innovative, high-impact research to find more – and better – treatments for cancer, uncover factors that may cause cancer, and improve the quality of life for every person facing cancer. By funding the most promising research within our six priority research areas (causes of cancer, obesity/healthy eating and active living, screening and diagnosis, treatment, survivorship, and health equity across the cancer continuum), we are making it possible for talented investigators to create solutions for people with cancer.

Responsible for scientific activities supporting the promotion of appropriate cancer screening to achieve the greatest possible impact on cancer outcomes and for establishing and maintaining the organization's leadership in early detection of cancer.

Funds basic, translational, and clinical research through a competitive peer review process. With a primary focus on beginning investigators, EDS programs support innovative cancer research across a wide range of disciplines to meet critically important needs in the control of cancer.

Studies risk factors (or ways to lower risk) of developing cancer and how to improve quality of life and survival after a cancer diagnosis primarily by conducting large-scale, nationwide cancer prevention studies, including CPS-2 and CPS-3. This team also executes behavioral interventions, such as smoking cessation and exercise, and conducts evaluations to deliver accurate, reliable, and timely evidence-based information.

Analyzes and disseminates population-based cancer statistics, identifies gaps and opportunities in the delivery of cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment, and examines economic and policy aspects of health equity, access to care, tobacco, nutrition, and physical activity.

With a new administration in place in Washington, D.C., federal funding has come into question across the board, including for cancer research and prevention programs. It’s important to note that ACS is not reliant on government funding to achieve our mission, but robust and sustained federal, state, and local funding for programs critical to our mission must be preserved and continued. This is why ACS CAN is actively monitoring the ongoing budgetary discussions occurring in Washington D.C. both for organizational impact as well as mission impact. In addition, ACS CAN continues to elevate the patient voice through every avenue to ensure that our elected officials, particularly those in Congress, understand the impact that changes to funding are likely to have on cancer patients and their families.

Advocacy: The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) advocates for evidence-based public policies to reduce the cancer burden for everyone. We engage volunteers across the country to make their voices heard by policymakers at every level of government. Since 2001, as the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN has successfully advocated for billions of dollars in cancer research funding, expanded access to quality affordable health care, and advanced proven tobacco control measures. We stand with our volunteers, working to make cancer a top priority for policymakers in cities, states, territories and our nation’s capital.   We’re the only cancer organization in all 50 states, working at every level of government (local, state, federal) and in every branch of government (legislative, executive, judicial). We engage thousands of dedicated individuals in every congressional district across the country to share their time, skills and stories to advance ACS CAN’s mission to advocate for evidence-based public policies to reduce the cancer burden for everyone.

Patient Support: When a cancer diagnosis upends a person’s life, having somewhere to turn for support means everything. Our Patient Support Pillar is the largest non-governmental provider of education and patient and caregiver services to people with cancer in the United States. ACS Patient Support programs are there for people in every community, working to ease the burdens people face throughout the cancer experience. Collaborating with health care providers, health systems, and public health organizations, we continue our work to eliminate barriers for all people and improve accessibility to treatments and support services.

Access to Care: For too many people facing cancer, their health outcomes are often determined by their ability to access care. Each barrier of care can decrease a person’s chance of survival. Lack of transportation is the number one barrier to people accessing timely, high-quality cancer care. Road To Recovery’s provides more people with free rides to their important cancer-related appointments, ultimately improving outcomes and helping save lives.

Hope Lodges: Our Hope Lodges enable us to support our guests throughout their cancer journey. Thousands of people and their caregivers call a Hope Lodge facility their home away from home during treatment each year. Hope Lodge communities go beyond a place to stay; they offer healing spaces and create communities where patients and caregivers can find strength in themselves and in one another.

Health Equity and DEI: Cancer is a disease that can affect anyone, but it doesn’t affect everyone equally. Many barriers can impact a person's ability to prevent, find, treat, and survive cancer. These barriers are because of deeply rooted, long-standing inequities at all levels of society that will take an intentional effort to address in order to have equal cancer outcomes. At the American Cancer Society, we believe diversity, equity, and inclusion are critical to our mission. When you're in the business of saving lives, it is essential not only to understand and respect differences, but also to leverage the similarities that unite us in the fight against cancer. ACS and ACS CAN equitably engage diverse and multicultural people in the culture and program of work of our organizations.

African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, and uninsured individuals are more likely to develop and die from cancer than the general US population. Limited access to quality health care greatly impacts one’s ability to access early detection resources. This often results in late-stage cancer diagnoses, which limits lifesaving treatment options. Focusing our efforts on these historically underserved and uninsured individuals is a critical step in reducing health disparities.

Acting as a Partner and Convener: ACS and ACS CAN convene roundtables bringing together allied organizations to work collaboratively and achieve an even greater impact. We work to unite organizations in collaborative partnerships through six national roundtables focusing on breast, colorectal, lung, and cervical cancers, as well as HPV vaccination and navigation. We bring together thought leaders from different organizations who are committed to taking collective action to help improve cancer outcomes through targeted and strategic solutions.

The American Cancer Society, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation governed by a single fiduciary Board of Directors that is responsible for setting policy, establishing long-term goals, monitoring general operations, assessing organizational outcomes, and reviewing and approving the annual budget. The Board is comprised entirely of volunteers from the medical and lay communities. Our system of organizational governance ensures the input of appropriate experts on decision making and strategic oversight of comprehensive nationwide operations.

ACS’s headquarters is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with our workforce and volunteers throughout the country supporting five geographic regions and Puerto Rico. The organization has approximately 3,130 employees. ACS CAN is based in Washington, DC, with team members and volunteers across the country supporting federal, local, and state advocacy initiatives.

The American Cancer Society is proud to hold top ratings from Charity Navigator, the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, and Candid, all widely recognized and respected charity rating and watchdog groups, demonstrating our continuing commitment to accountability, transparency, and ethical practices.

Every year, 80% of our expenses go directly to fund our mission to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support.

The ACS and ACS CAN seek a visionary, strategic leader with multi-sector (private, public, and/or nonprofit) experience and a record of strengthening organizations, delivering breakthrough results, and setting the direction for sustainable growth and impact in the future. The CEO will have led organizations of significant scope, scale, and complexity, served multi-stakeholders, and established operating policies and procedures commensurate with the organization’s reach and size. They will have a record of accomplishment leading organizational change to achieve a mission and strategic priorities, building agility into the workforce, and instilling a culture of accountability. This will require a leader who is innovative, dynamic, and courageous, and who understands how to cultivate relationships with leaders in healthcare and the scientific community, government, business, donors, staff, and volunteers. The new CEO will be an inspirational leader and a compelling voice for ACS’s mission for myriad audiences. An understanding of the cancer space or broader health landscape is highly desirable. At ACS, our focus is the patient and their caregivers. While it is not required that the candidate have an MD or PhD, it is preferred that the ideal candidate have significant experience(s) with patients along any portion of the patient’s journey. Among the key experiences and attributes for the next CEO are the following:

A bachelor’s degree is required. An advanced or terminal degree is preferred.

A competitive compensation package will be provided to outstanding candidates. The base salary range for this position is $900,000 to $950,000 along with a highly competitive incentive plan. Salary will be dependent on several factors, including previous work experience, specific industry experience, qualifications, and skill set.

Lorraine Lavet

Sector Leader, Association Practice

Phone: 703-919-6540

Lorraine.Lavet@kornferry.com

Tom Giella

Chairman, Health Care Services

Phone: (312) 375-0629

Thomas.Giella@kornferry.com

Divina Gamble

Sector Leader, Nonprofit Practice

Phone: (202) 355-3834

Divina.Gamble@KornFerry.com

Toni Lam

Global Practice Leader Academic Medicine

Phone: (949) 637-0487

Tonika.Lam@Kornferry.com

Tara Vittese

Senior Associate

Phone: (609) 969-8070

Tara.Vittese@KornFerry.com

Emily Lynch

Senior Project Coordinator

Phone: 703-498-7227

Emily.Reda@kornferry.com

******

Korn Ferry shall provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified candidates, and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected basis.