March 7, 2010

Unorthodox Leader of Cleveland Fund Pushes New Ideas to Bolster City’s Economy

Cleveland Foundation

Ronn Richard (on right) brings business and government experience to the Cleveland Foundation.

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By Ben Gose

Cleveland

As the board of the Cleveland Foundation sifted through résumés seven years ago, an unorthodox candidate for chief executive stood out: Ronald B. Richard had served as a diplomat in Japan, managed a major division for Panasonic, and led the Central Intelligence Agency’s venture-capital fund. Unlike nearly all the other candidates, Mr. Richard had never held a significant position in philanthropy. But the board of one of the country’s largest community foundations