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ATLANTA, Aug. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Gary Reedy, chief executive officer for the American Cancer Society (ACS) and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), announced today that he will retire in April 2021. Reedy became CEO in 2015, after more than 15 years as a volunteer leader for the organization, including serving as past chair of the ACS Board in 2013 and the ACS CAN Board in 2011.

"We have been through both wonderful and challenging times together," Reedy told volunteers and staff in an email this morning. "When I stepped into the role of CEO in April of 2015, the newly organized single corporate entity of the American Cancer Society required us to rebuild together. You, our volunteers and staff never wavered, and I couldn't be prouder of our joint accomplishments."

During his CEO tenure, Reedy provided the vision and leadership to rebuild the American Cancer Society after the organization consolidated from a federated model to a single corporate entity. Today, ACS has returned to its roots as a volunteer-led organization and has a new mission statement, core values, cultural beliefs, and a stronger commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity than ever before.

With its first unified, enterprise-wide strategic plan, the organization is working toward ambitious goals it set for the nation to reduce cancer mortality by 40 percent by 2035. Today's American Cancer Society is more nimble, less risk averse, more courageous, and not afraid to innovate for greater impact. And ACS is delivering on its key initiatives by funding cutting-edge research, increasing screening rates, deepening corporate engagement with our partners, launching the BrightEdge philanthropic impact fund, and advancing policy and legislative change, including improved access to health care through ACS CAN.

"We still have a great deal of work to do in the coming months," Reedy said, "and I remain as committed to moving our mission forward as I was on my first day on the job. With great optimism, I look to the future of the American Cancer Society and ACS CAN to seeing how we will continue to save lives, celebrate lives, and lead the fight for a world without cancer."

"We are grateful for Gary's dedication and leadership," said Jeff Kean, chair of the ACS Board, "and we are fortunate that Gary will continue to lead this organization as we embark on an extensive search for the next CEO. The Board will seek a leader who can bring creative, strategic action to ACS and ACS CAN as we move beyond COVID-19 and to a future of collaboration among a diversity of communities and partners fighting cancer around the country."

The American Cancer Society Board will conduct a nationwide search with the hope of identifying a new CEO in early 2021, Kean said. The search will be led by a 7-member board search committee co-chaired by Terri McClements, ACS Board member and market managing partner for Mid-Atlantic for PwC, and Michael Marquardt, ACS Board member, ACS CAN Board member, and chief executive officer of Global Kompass Strategies. The committee will engage in a listening effort to gather input from stakeholders about the skills and traits most needed for ACS's next CEO.

SOURCE American Cancer Society; American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network