Big Lottery Fund appoints new chief executive

The Big Lottery Fund has announced today the appointment of Dawn Austwick as the organisation’s new chief executive.

Austwick joins the Big Lottery Fund from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, an organisation she has successfully led as a chief executive since 2005.

She will be taking over from Peter Wanless who stands down as chief executive at the end of May to become chief Executive of NSPCC.

Big Lottery Fund chair, Peter Ainsworth, welcomed Austwick to the Fund, which distributes 40 per cent of all National Lottery good cause funding across the UK, rolling out around £700 million in funding each year.

Ainsworth said: “This appointment follows a highly competitive process and I am looking forward to working with Dawn, who will bring a wealth of experience, insight and enthusiasm to the Big Lottery Fund.”

He added: “She joins the Fund at an exciting but also challenging time. We are operating in a difficult economic climate where the delivery of our mission, to support people and communities most in need, is ever more pressing.”

Ainsworth took the opportunity of the new appointment to thank outgoing CEO Peter Wanless who has led the Big Lottery Fund for five years: “Under Peter’s leadership, the Big Lottery Fund has gone from strength to strength, becoming more efficient and breaking new ground in public involvement, social investment and above all, making a difference to local communities – during Peter’s tenure we have had the privilege of funding over 64,000 projects across the UK to deliver bright ideas, both big and small”

Austwick added: “The Big Lottery Fund works hard to transform communities and the lives of people in need, often in the most imaginative ways directly involving the people themselves.

"I am relishing the opportunity to build on the Fund’s impact to date in ways that bring lasting benefits to communities and quality of life throughout the UK.”

She takes up her position in the Autumn 2013.

In the interim period, the current director of strategy, performance and learning, Ceri Doyle will hold the reins as acting CEO.