Caroline Jenner leaving CEO position at JA Europe and appointed COO of JA Worldwide
September 13, 2019
JA Europe has announced that Caroline Jenner is leaving her position as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JA Europe in order to take on the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at JA Worldwide, starting February 2020.
Caroline became JA Europe’s founding CEO in 2002. Over the last 17 years, JA Europe’s network has grown from 33 to 40 members and is now reaching over 4 million young people annually. JA Europe and its member countries have spearheaded a number of innovative initiatives including the Entrepreneurial Skills Pass, a micro credential for young people; the Innovation Cluster for Entrepreneurship Education, a multi-country research project on impact and system-change; and the Entrepreneurship Education NETwork (EE-HUB), a large-scale advocacy effort to engage key experts and stakeholders.
For Caroline, working at JA Europe has been a unique and incredibly rewarding experience. “I am proud to have been a part of building the network and grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many outstanding teams of people at both the national and European levels. I am looking forward to continuing to promote entrepreneurship and employability for young people in my new role at JA Worldwide.”
JA Worldwide CEO, Asheesh Advani, is looking forward to Caroline’s new role. “Caroline has been a strong leader for JA Europe and is a natural choice to serve as the COO of JA Worldwide after the upcoming retirement of Margie Wang. A passionate advocate of maximizing the social impact of JA, Caroline understands that JA’s unique advantage is our human capital, our network of teams around the world that have the power to improve humanity by inspiring youth. We will all be able to accomplish more with her leadership.”
Speaking on behalf of the JA Europe Board, Adam Warby, Chairman of the JA Europe Board, thanked Caroline for her work, especially, “the incredible impact that she has had as CEO over the past 16 years. Caroline’s passion for youth entrepreneurship and employability, combined with her strong leadership, helped create and shape the JA Europe organization and has made a significant difference on the lives of the many young people who have participated in programs over the years. We wish her all the very best as she takes on her new role with the JA Worldwide network.”
Cecilia Nykvist, Chair of the Board of Executives of JA Europe and CEO of JA Sweden, agrees. “We are 40 member countries with different local challenges and diverse education systems. Caroline and her team have brought us closer together and established a real sense of community. I am sure she will take that spirit with her to JA Worldwide.”
“I look forward to working with Caroline, as we both share a common belief that JA’s unique advantage is our human capital—our network of teams around the world with the power to improve humanity by serving youth.”
The JA Europe Board of Directors has established a selection committee to appoint a successor in time to allow a well-managed transition. A call for applications will be opened soon on the JA Europe website (jaeurope.org).