Lance Kawaguchi, CEO Magazine's "Not-For-Profit Executive of the Year," Traces His Journey from International Investment Banker to Global Cancer Philanthropist
There are plenty of smart, creative non-for-profit CEO's out there. But there are only a small handful of visionaries. As the leader of the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, Lance's work in the cancer arena has been a magnificent obsession.
Lance has demonstrated a genuine and tireless compassion for the people he is working hard to help. He's given an enormous boost to the national and global cancer research communities and of course cancer patients and their families. He has provided new and real hope.
Lance, who is a man with a sharp, self-deprecating wit, has been all over the world and is a terrific storyteller. But when it's time to work, he hunkers down. No small talk. No BS. No nonsense. His eyes are on the prize.
If you'd met Lance six years ago or before, you would have probably never imagined he would become one of the globe's most respected not-for-profit leaders. His back story is downright Dickensian, with success, pathos, joy and redemption.
For 25 years, Lance was a global investment banker, traversing the world many times over and making a fortune. He wasn't exactly Ebenezer Scrooge, but he certainly wasn't thinking much about charity.
But when his mom, Katherine Kawaguchi, a beloved school teacher for more than 40 years, was dying of cancer, she told her son that he needed to become a better person and do something more meaningful with his life and his money.
With tears in his eyes, Lance absorbed every word. He took the blows. And when she died of cancer in 2016, he honored her wishes in spectacular fashion, and continues to do the same.
The Great Unknown
Lance instinctively knew the not-for-profit world would be demonstrably different than what he was used to. But he has an innate ability to adjust on the fly, shut out the outside noise, and get to work. It's the reason why he was such a successful leader in the high-stakes, high-wire world of investment banking, and it has served him well in his new role.
"It was an enormous adjustment. But I love challenges," he said in an interview with The Reno Dispatch. "When I was in banking, my office in London was an 800-square-foot space on the 27th floor. When I came to the not-for-profit in Australia, I didn't even have an office. I held all my meetings in a Vietnamese restaurant. We had done a 180, from a massive office to no office. But the food at the restaurant was great and they loved me."
For the first six months, many people were skeptical that Lance could turn things around.
"I had so many things going against me," he said. "I just kept saying to everyone, 'Just stay with me and trust the process'. Two global recruiters told me that I would not fit at a not-for-profit. They worried that I was going to force too much positive change too quickly."
But leadership is leadership. The tenets of success are virtually the same no matter what industry you're in. Fueled by the memory of his mom, and his own burgeoning compassion, Lance hit the ground running, learning the ropes and identifying the players and the pretenders.
"Everyone told me not to do it. The organization was a mess. But if you tell me not to do something, I am gonna do it. What better way to show my worth? I had everything going against me," he said.
In Lance's hands, the organization went from a demonstrably dysfunctional workplace to an ideal one where people trust each other and everyone works in unison for the same worthy cause.
"I love the fact that the community left us, and then they all came back. Everyone told me not to take the job, that it was dysfunctional, that there was too much damage," he said.
Raising Millions Worldwide for Cancer Research
Lance decided early on that brain cancer would be a priority in his new career because it affects so many young people and because it's so difficult to treat. He has already raised millions to fund new cancer research in brain cancer, and other cancers as well.
His goals are big but simple: Find better, less toxic treatments for cancer, support early detection, and ultimately find cures.
He has dedicated his life to this mantra.
Lance is not only CEO of the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation (CBCF), he's also now a Board Member of the National Foundation for Cancer Research, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Asian Fund for Cancer Research, and Strategic Advisor to the AIM-HU Accelerator Fund.
In his time as CEO at CBCF, Lance has increased net profitability and pivoted to digital offerings to engage communities in Australia and internationally. He launched the world's largest brain cancer-dedicated Clinical Accelerator program to support early-stage biotech companies to take innovative therapeutics from the lab to clinical trials to the clinic.
And that in fact may be his most brilliant move: Embracing the biotech industry. There is strength in numbers, and there are many innovative cancer scientists in the biotech world who are just waiting for support.
This includes executives in the relatively new but booming liquid biopsy sector. Liquid biopsies are simply blood tests that identify biomarkers in the blood. These biomarkers can tell us if a person has cancer and what type of cancer, even in very early stages, which is key for survival.
These tests are less invasive than traditional screenings. It's just a simple blood draw.
Lance is dedicated to learning more about biotech companies who are working in the cancer space, and about the newest treatments and clinical trials worldwide.
For example, CBCF led the critical funding to bring the historic brain cancer GBM Agile to Australia with the Foundation's largest-ever investment of $8 million.
GBM Agile is a group of more than 130 oncologists, pathologists, neurosurgeons, imagers, advocates and researchers from academia, industry and government that have been working collectively since 2015 to design a new type of randomized trial that will further enhance the way therapies are identified for brain cancer.
This trial will give Australia's cancer patients access to new, cutting-edge therapies that were previously unavailable in the region.
Only The Beginning
Lance clearly had a deep reserve of compassion that he kept close to the vest in his former career. His mom knew this would eventually make its way to the surface. And we are all thankful that it did.
The truth is that just beneath the confident, go-getter personality there is a man who cares deeply about those who are suffering. He gets emotional when he talks about his own family and about young people with cancer.
"I always had a soft spot for kids with cancer," he says. "My greatest skill now is just being honest and getting stuff done. My title or previous success doesn't matter now."
At a 6-year-old cancer patient's recent birthday celebration, Lance surprised the boy with a Qatar World Cup soccer jersey and Pokemon.
"We also gave him his very own glow stick party when he was undergoing treatment," Lance said. "The nurses used glow sticks in the hospital so that he wouldn't be scared."
Lance also surprised a woman with cancer at a recent walk and had everyone rally around her to sing happy birthday.
"She only had two more weeks to live, and she was in a motorized wheelchair," Lance said. "Just meeting people like this is a privilege. All the other stuff just doesn't matter. What's important is what you have done to serve others. No matter how tired you are, someone has it worse than you."
Memorable Acceptance Speech
Graciously and poignantly accepting the award for Not-For-Profit Executive of the Year, Lance stated, "I'm deeply honored to be recognized for my work as CEO of Cure Brain Cancer Foundation. I left my lucrative career in investment banking to join the not-for-profit sector after my mother passed away to cancer. I had then made a pledge to her that I would give back to the community and strive to help find a cure."
Lance continued with a vow that he would continue to honor all his commitments to the cancer community by building networks to collaborate globally and navigating the intricacies of the sector.
"I don't believe failure is an option, cancer has no boundaries, and I am here to give it my all to find new opportunities for treatments and innovations that will increase the survival rate and quality of life of those impacted," he said.
Lance concluded the powerful speech by stating, "My journey over the past year has been the most rewarding of my life, and I encourage you all to join the non-for-profit sector and do your part."
