After 11 years as a researcher and Director General, David Kaimowitz has left CIFOR to join the Ford Foundation in Mexico. David’s five year reign as Director General will be remembered fondly and admired for many reasons.

If asked to note the single most outstanding characteris-tic of David’s leadership at CIFOR, there is no doubt most people would speak glowingly of his ability to communicate.

David’s communication skills have won plaudits not just from within CIFOR but from people around the world – from scientists and donor representatives through to government officials, journalists and even children.

As one CIFOR staffer wrote on the CIFOR intranet site, 'I am touched by the way you communicate regardless of age. Last time I brought my 1½ year old son you spoke to him and shook his hand … you are always ready to talk and listen.'

From Quebec City to Brisbane, from Havana to Helsinki, David has regularly addressed large crowds on key forest issues of global concern. Nowhere was David’s ability to communicate a clear, simple and intelligent message more apparent than in his scores of media interviews. Journalists deliberately sought him out, confident he would provide their audience a concise and pithy comment on a complex but important forest issue.

It is not just his verbal skills, but also his writing prowess that has won enormous praise. One scientist wrote, 'David’s writing has a sense of purity … (he has) the skill and courage to cut across complexity and put messages in simple, concise words, rich in metaphors but devoid of academic jargon and excessive caveats.'

David’s brilliant writing was most evident in Polex, CIFOR’s bi-monthly email that captured the attention and imagination of forestry policy makers and agenda setters around the world.

Communication is an important skill for any CEO but David also brought with him a vision and passion for forest research. One scientist wrote that through David’s leadership 'CIFOR became more mature and responsible as an international, public-oriented institution.'

David never demurred from his view that forests were all about people and that CIFOR’s research should always embrace poverty reduction. This is not to say ‘conservation’ was a foreign word in David’s forestry messages. Not at all. A quick scan of his Polex messages shows just how much emphasis he placed on researching forests for both their conservation and livelihood values.

David leaves behind a legacy that not even an entire edition of CIFOR News could do justice to, let alone one article.

Apart from infusing CIFOR with a sense of vigor, imparting a vision and underscoring the importance of communicating science, David can leave the centre also knowing its budget has increased by some 35%, and it has established itself as a respected institution in global forestry circles.

David was not alone in having a profound presence at CIFOR. Francisca Kaimowitz also contributed to CIFOR’s much envied community spirit with her Mexican meals and ever-extended hand to those in need. Within 48 hours of the Boxing Day Tsunami, she marshaled the CIFOR community and her expatriate friends and was soon in Aceh handing out supplies and succour.

The best testimony to David's successful leadership is the report of the recent External Programme and Management Review (EPMR), a five yearly independent evaluation of CGIAR centres. In his letter to the CGIAR’s Science Council, Niels Koch, Chair of the EPMR Panel, described CIFOR as 'the leading international forest research center within its mandate… its research and policy oriented outcomes are significant and in many cases outstanding.'
When it comes to retirements and testimonials, no more needs to be said. GC