Kotti Steps Down as President

Sterling Giles 

Bill Kotti announced that he would retire as president of the MCV Foundation and chief development officer for the MCV Campus effective Thursday.

As the president of the MCV Foundation, Kotti was responsible for managing the private gifts received by the MCV Campus schools and centers. In a little over eight years, Kotti has raised the foundation’s assets by over $100 million, emerging from $291 million to $490 million.

Additionally, as the chief development officer for the MCV Campus, he works with various deans and development directors to develop an extensive fundraising plan for the campus. Kotti also served as an essential resource for planning and implementing donation programs for the campus.

Prior to VCU, Kotti worked as the associate dean for resource planning and development for the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. It was here where he helped raise over $334 million for research and facility purposes.

Much like his previous occupations, Kotti maintained a standard of excellence and received rave reviews from his colleagues and investment partners alike. Gail Johnson, chair of the MCV Foundation Board, expressed her gratitude in a press release.

“Bill has dedicated eight years of his life to our foundation, establishing extraordinary relationships, passionately working to support philanthropy for the VCU Medical Center, and always sharing his talents to advance our cause,” Johnson said. “Many thanks to Bill for what he has done for us during his tenure with us. He will certainly be missed by the MCV Foundation, its staff, and its current and former trustees.”

Effective Oct. 1, Kotti will serve alongside Mathwon Howard of Duke University, as associate vice president of development and alumni relations at Emory University.

At Emory, Kotti will lead the development efforts for the humanities and business schools. While, Howard will be in command of the various central development programs and facilities on campus.

Prior to Emory, Howard served as the director of major gifts at Duke University. He led the “Duke Forward” fundraising program, which plans to raise $3.25 billion to advance the university’s facilities and resources. To date, the program has raised over $2.23 billion.

In lieu of Kotti, Brian Thomas, the senior executive of development for the MCV Campus, will serve as the interim MCV Foundation president. In the meantime, the foundation’s search committee is actively pursuing a replacement president.