Rockefeller Foundation Announces New Senior Vice President for Connected Leaders

NEW YORK | April 11, 2024 — The Rockefeller Foundation announced that Eason Jordan has been named Senior Vice President, Connected Leaders. Mr. Jordan’s new position will focus on growing, engaging, and energizing the Foundation’s network of convenings and fellows to advance partnerships and alliances that amplify action in support of its mission to promote the well-being of humanity. He joins The Rockefeller Foundation at a time when the 110-year-old philanthropic organization is in the early stages of a $1 billion commitment to advance a global climate transition that includes everyone, especially those who are most at risk.

“A distinguished executive and entrepreneur, Eason will leverage the experience and network he’s developed across 70 countries to further our Connected Leaders platform. With his leadership, The Rockefeller Foundation will continue to build partnerships and alliances needed for solutions designed to promote humanity’s well-being amid the climate crisis,” said Natalye Paquin, Chief Operating Officer at The Rockefeller Foundation.

For much of The Rockefeller Foundation’s history, it has held meetings with policymakers, scholars, advocates, and others, including at its Bellagio Center on Lake Como, which has supported many breakthroughs through its residency and convening programs for over 60 years, bringing together the very best in their fields to solve the world’s most pressing problems. In addition, at Bellagio and elsewhere, The Rockefeller Foundation has supported fellows who are working at the leading edge of their respective fields. As head of Connected Leaders, Mr. Jordan will help operationalize these connections in service of the Foundation’s five-year climate strategy by driving the Foundation’s global convening capacity; designing high-level gatherings; deepening engagement with key leaders, corporations, governments, and non-profit organizations; and galvanizing networks. The Connected Leaders platform is a defining part of the Foundation’s unique model of change.

“I am thrilled to be joining the dream team at The Rockefeller Foundation, where I look forward to helping make the most of the Foundation’s phenomenal convenings, alliances, and impact,” said Mr. Jordan.

Prior to joining The Rockefeller Foundation, Mr. Jordan spent nearly two dozen years at CNN, he held several roles including chief news executive and president of newsgathering and international networks, overseeing news coverage and reporting teams, convenings, residencies, and international outlets, expansion, and relations. Following his tenure at CNN, Jordan served as a founding general manager of NowThis and as the first director at the Malala Fund where he worked closely with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, supporting the mission of girls’ education worldwide. He founded Oryx Strategies, a strategic planning, communications, and media consulting firm based in New York. He is the winner of several awards, including four Emmy Awards, two Peabody Awards, and the DuPont-Columbia Award.

Mr. Jordan and his thought leadership has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and TIME Magazine, among other prominent publications. He is an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the advisory board of Women for Women International, the advisory council of Stanford’s Human Perception Lab, and the board of trustees of the Fugees Family.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the well-being of humanity. Today, we are focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food, health, energy, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn and LI @the-rockefeller-foundation.