Search begins for successor to Ken Hackett, CRS president since 1993

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Catholic Relief Services has begun a nationwide search for a successor to its president, Ken Hackett, whose career with the international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community spans nearly four decades. "The good news is that we can do this patiently and carefully, because we are able to approach any leadership changes from a position of strength, success and stability," New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, chairman of the CRS board, said in a Sept. 29 statement announcing the search. Hackett, 63, has agreed to continue serving as president for six months beyond the end of his current five-year term in June 2011 and the new president is expected to be installed by January 2012. He will continue to serve as a consultant to CRS until July 2012. CRS' president since 1993, Hackett joined the agency in 1972 following Peace Corps service in Ghana. His first assignment was in Sierra Leone and he served CRS in posts throughout Africa and Asia, as well as in a variety of positions at CRS headquarters. He was regional director for Africa, guiding CRS' response to the Ethiopian famine of 1984-85, and supervised operations in East Africa during the crisis in Somalia in the early 1990s. During his 17 years at the helm, CRS grew from an operating budget of approximately $300 million to more than $800 million today.