On behalf of the MassINC Board of Directors, it is our pleasure to introduce readers to Ian Bowles, the new executive director of MassINC and publisher of CommonWealth.

As MassINC begins an important new chapter in its growth and development, we are fortunate to have found someone with Ian’s extraordinary blend of talents and experiences. We were drawn to his proven commitment to public service and public policy and to his personal dedication to MassINC’s nonpartisan mission of promoting the growth and vitality of the middle class. It is hard to imagine someone better suited to building on the solid foundation left by Tripp Jones’s seven years of service to the MassINC cause than Ian Bowles.

A resident of Charlestown, Ian comes to MassINC by way of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, a charitable foundation established by the co-founder of Intel Corp., where he served as a senior advisor, and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where he has been a senior research fellow.

But those are just his most recent postings. A respected public policy expert, Ian has worked at the highest levels of government–and on both sides of the aisle–advising national leaders on a variety of international and domestic issues. As senior director of environmental affairs at the National Security Council in the Clinton White House, Ian oversaw the development and coordination of US policy related to international environmental issues. His broad portfolio gave him a decision-making role in matters that included trade and finance, intelligence, energy policy, and security. As a legislative assistant to former congresswoman Claudine Schneider, a Rhode Island Republican, he developed expertise in a range of domestic policy areas, including housing, veterans affairs, and the judiciary.

When it comes to guiding MassINC into the future, Ian’s experience in organization building is just as important as his public policy credentials–and just as impressive. Ian played a central role in growing and leading a major nonprofit organization with a presence in 37 countries and a budget of roughly $100 million. Over the course of eight years, he developed formidable management, fundraising, and communication skills while helping to build Conservation International. Serving most recently as vice president, Ian directed the organization’s policy research, led its conservation financing program, oversaw its development assistance funding, and managed its relationships with international and domestic government agencies. He raised his own department’s $2 million annual budget and coordinated $15 million in funding for specific projects.

On top of all this, Ian comes to MassINC with a strong sense of community and a desire to give back, as evidenced by his teaching, writing, and research, as well as his foray into politics as a candidate for the 1996 Democratic nomination in the 10th Congressional District, which includes his hometown of Falmouth. Civic engagement–an important component of MassINC’s work–is something that Ian takes very much to heart.

During a search process that lasted almost six months, many of MassINC’s friends and supporters offered helpful counsel and advice. Thanks to all of you. And a special thanks to the MassINC board members who devoted considerable time and energy to our most critical responsibility: selecting an executive director to lead the organization forward.

Please join us in warmly welcoming Ian Bowles to the MassINC fold. We ask that you lend your support as he leads this vibrant and still-young organization into the future. And get ready for MassINC, and CommonWealth, to reach new heights of civic and journalistic achievement.