Public Policy Forum Announces Inez Jabalpurwala as New President and CEO

OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 27, 2024 /CNW/ - The Public Policy Forum (PPF) today announced the appointment of Inez Jabalpurwala as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, following an extensive national search. Ms. Jabalpurwala, a distinguished leader in public policy and non-profit management, will assume her new role effective Jan. 6, 2025.

"PPF is an extraordinarily powerful platform whose transformational work is underway across a range of major topics," said André Beaulieu, chairman of PPF's Board of Directors. "As one of Canada's sharpest policy minds and most creative, inspiring leaders, Inez Jabalpurwala will help this organization scale new heights. We are thrilled she has agreed to lend her considerable talents to this important work." 

Ms. Jabalpurwala will build on outgoing CEO Edward Greenspon's exceptional record of achievement and impact at PPF — one of Canada's most respected and established think tanks and a unique organization in the Canadian marketplace of ideas. PPF's methodology brings together diverse parties and perspectives to better understand complex issues important to Canadians. Research work is currently underway across a range of topics, including life sciences and health security, health care, democracy, the energy transition, Canada-U.S. relations and economic growth in Atlantic Canada.

"A life-long learner and entrepreneur at heart, I am delighted to have this opportunity to take PPF through its next phase of growth while ensuring that its core values of quality and independence are honoured," Ms. Jabalpurwala said. "PPF's contributions to 'good policy for a better Canada' are critical at a time when civic spaces are shrinking and truth is harder to discern. I look forward to working with a dynamic, diverse board and team — and with a range of thought leaders, engaged citizens, partners and members — to expand PPF's reach and impact."

Ms. Jabalpurwala currently serves as Global Director of VINEx, an organization she built during the pandemic to explore how SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses impact brain health, including Long COVID. After co-leading the development of a pan-Canadian action plan to address Long COVID, Ms. Jabalpurwala broadened VINEx's focus to better understand how the environment impacts our health. She is also co-leader of the Brain Health Nexus, a multidisciplinary effort to unleash science and technology to optimize brain health and prevent brain disease.

Prior to these roles, Ms. Jabalpurwala was Founding President and CEO of the Brain Canada Foundation from 2001 to 2020, building a globally recognized health charity that brought together fragmented research and policy communities, and accelerated Canada's excellent research on the brain. Under her leadership, Brain Canada developed a team-based science program, established a public-private partnership with the federal government resulting in $200 million in matched funds, raised more than $130 million, initiated and executed more than 100 partnerships across sectors and disbursed more than $250 million in grants.

"Experience working at the intersection of a range of disciplines and across sectors fueled my appreciation of the importance of policy interconnections," Ms. Jabalpurwala said. "My work on brain health was an entry point to a deeper understanding of the environment, climate change, AI, data science, economic growth and increased productivity — many of the same issues of concern to PPF."

"I'm also passionate about raising awareness of the consequences of socio-economic inequities and biases in the evidence we gather. Most important, I am an advocate for a human-centred approach: If you want to serve people, you have to care about them, value their voices — and find solutions that lift everyone."

Ms. Jabalpurwala currently serves on the Board of Governors of McGill University, on the Board of the McGill Alumni Association, where she was a past President, and on the Board of Directors of Equitas, a global leader in human rights education.

She has been named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women by the Women's Executive Network on three occasions — in 2007, 2016 and again in 2022 for "women in STEM roles who are challenging the status quo for knowledge and female empowerment."

Ms. Jabalpurwala succeeds Edward Greenspon, who has led PPF since 2016. Mr. Greenspon will remain a PPF Fellow and will work as a Senior Advisor to the CEO through the transition.

About the Public Policy Forum:

The Public Policy Forum works with all levels of government and the public service, the private sector, labour, post-secondary institutions, NGOs, and Indigenous groups to improve policy outcomes for Canadians. As a non-partisan, member-based organization, PPF works from "inclusion to conclusion," by convening discussions on fundamental policy issues and by identifying new options and paths forward.

SOURCE Public Policy Forum

For media inquiries, please contact: Alison Uncles, Vice-President, PPF Media + Communications, Public Policy Forum, [email protected]