September 24, 2021 (Waterloo, Canada) — The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) announced today that its president, Rohinton P. Medhora, will step down in May 2022 and a search for his successor is now under way.
Medhora joined the Waterloo-based think tank’s International Board of Governors in 2009 before his appointment as CIGI’s president in May 2012. His tenure leading CIGI, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in July, is the longest in the organization’s history.
“After almost a decade of leading CIGI, it felt like an appropriate time to set new challenges for myself (also slow down) and offer the opportunity to someone else to lead this fantastic organization,” wrote Medhora in a personal message to staff and fellows yesterday. “I’m deeply proud of the many accomplishments I share with CIGI’s staff, fellows and partners.”
CIGI’s research has shifted from an early focus on global summitry, international relations and the global economy. The organization’s most recent Strategic Plan, released in 2020, refocused the think tank’s research and analysis to technology governance and a crosscut of topics related to big data, platform governance, digital standards, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
Under his leadership, the organization is now ranked 30th worldwide among more than 8,000 think tanks according to the University of Pennsylvania’s Global Go To Think Tank Index — up from 41st in 2012. It also holds the distinction of a 12th global ranking in the Top Science and Technology Policy Think Tanks category and 5th globally in the Best Quality Assurance and Integrity Policies and Procedures category.
“Rohinton has been an extraordinary leader for CIGI, who has ably guided the organization through its second decade to its current status as a go-to think tank at the intersection of technology and governance,” said Jim Balsillie, CIGI’s founder and chair of the Board of Directors. “We look forward to celebrating his accomplishments in the months ahead and wish to express our appreciation for his assistance in the upcoming transition.”
Balsillie also shared that Medhora is expected to continue his association with CIGI as a distinguished fellow.
CIGI’s Board of Directors has enlisted the help of an executive recruiting company, Boyden Canada, to conduct its search for a new president. The posting for the position can be found here: www.boyden.ca/canada/opportunities/.
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For more information, please contact:
Claire van Nierop, Communications Advisor
[email protected], or +1 416 525 6842
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is an independent, non-partisan think tank committed to innovative policy making at the intersection of technology and international governance. Headquartered in Waterloo, Canada, CIGI has a global network of multidisciplinary researchers and strategic partnerships providing expert research and objective analysis with one goal in mind: to improve people’s lives everywhere.