Moonpig founder to head Ark
JUST a month after collecting a paper windfall of up to £40m from the sale Moonpig, Nick Jenkins has been named chief executive of charity Ark.
The millionaire former Glencore commodities trader will be tasked with developing relationships with philanthropists to fund Ark’s programmes in Southern Africa, Eastern Europe, the UK and India.
Jenkins has experience managing a charity after establishing his own foundation, also with a focus on children’s welfare in the UK, Africa and India.
Jenkins said: “Ark is an extraordinary organisation but few people see the huge impact its programmes have in Southern Africa, the UK, Eastern Europe and India. Its programmes are well researched and tightly managed and they deliver real, lasting improvements to children’s lives.
“Ark deserves to be known for the demonstrable impact that it has on the ground and this is the message that we intend to bring to a wider group of philanthropists.
“It is a real privilege to join such an exciting organisation.”
The entrepreneur quit his position as a trader in Moscow after receiving a death threat from a supplier he helped to jail for stealing £10m worth of sugar.
The Moonpig card business he founded was sold to private equity-owned photo business Photobox for £120m last month, with Jenkins parting with some of his 35 per cent stake.
Earlier this year the government agreed to match private donations of £1m to go towards the charity’s vaccination programme in Zambia.
Overall, the Ark has committed $5.5m (£3.5m) over three years to vaccinating 160,000 children in the African country.