April 29, 2012

Project Helps Founders Handle the Strain of Stepping Down

Project Helps Founders Handle Strain of Stepping Down 1

Michael DIVito

Mark Lipton created the Founder’s Studio after running a New School program designed to guide people who take over the executive role from those who started charities.

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Michael DIVito

Mark Lipton created the Founder’s Studio after running a New School program designed to guide people who take over the executive role from those who started charities.

By Michelle Gienow

Mark Lipton has spent the past three years helping charity executives step into some big shoes.

As head of the New School’s Tenenbaum Leadership Initiative, Leading After the Legacy, Mr. Lipton worked with executive directors who took the place of the founders of their organizations, helping them make a smooth transition. But all too often, he says, those new CEO’s told him about the obstacles strewn in their paths.

“In so many cases, it was almost like the