NFP CEO Moves to Private Sector

Outgoing Foodbank Australia CEO, Jason Hincks, will join the private sector as an executive in Karrikins Group to help grow community investment. He discussed his change of direction with journalist Ellie Cooper.

Hincks, who was also the former Chief Operating Officer at men’s health charity Movember, said leaving the Not for Profit sector was a “natural transition”.

Outgoing Foodbank CEO, Jason Hincks.

“Having originally come from the private sector, I have been very fortunate to have worked with NFP organisations that have leveraged my commercial experience in achieving their social outcomes,” Hincks said.

“Both Movember and Foodbank Australia achieve their success by operating like commercial businesses, measured by social impact rather than shareholder value.

“For me personally, any move back into the private sector needed to include a strong intent to impact the world in a positive way.

“As the gap between the values of charities and progressive organisations narrow, the opportunity to influence these corporates to achieve authentic social outcomes concurrent to their commercial objectives is enormous.”

Hincks said his experience as an NFP leader would hold him in good stead for his role as CEO of Community Investment Solutions at Karrikins Group.

“My journey in the NFP space will provide additional perspective on how corporates can achieve tangible outcomes and how they can better engage with the NFP sector to ensure these objectives are met,” he said.

“As we move forward from the era of ‘chairman’s choice’ and disjointed corporate community investment, it is critical for charities and programs align more closely with their partners’ strategic objectives.

“Equally, it is important for corporates to understand and articulate these objectives in a way that will resonate with their customers, stakeholders and shareholders.”

Karrikins Group CEO and Founder Peter Sheahan said that Hincks was the right fit for the global consulting firm, which seeks to increase the business value and social impact of the community investment.

“The world of community investment is changing. Today we need business value and social impact from every dollar invested,” Sheahan said.

“Jason’s commercial experience in the music world, his brand expertise from his time at Movember, combined with his most recent role as CEO of a high profile Not for Profit is the perfect combination of skills for this newly emerging world of shared value.”

Hincks will begin in his new role in March, replacing Yvette Bellamy who left Karrikins Group late last year. He said his focus would be on building corporate partnerships.

“I would like to see other industries achieve the types of community impact that programs with partners, [including] Commonwealth Bank, Optus and Apple have in Australia, while responding the substantial global opportunities that these case studies have created,” he said.

“It is the ideal time to grow for Karrikins Group as more and more organisations adopt a shared value approach and are looking for the right strategy to bring about real change and create authentic and positive impact on society.”

Foodbank’s Director, Geoff Starr, will take over as interim CEO while the board recruits a new person to fill Hincks’s position.