Ben Godley, CEO of the Contributor Development Partnership, stepped down from the organization this month.
“The CDP Board is moving forward with new leadership for the organization, and has parted ways with Ben Godley,” said Jon Abbott, WGBH CEO and chair of CDP’s board, in a statement to Current. “We are grateful for all that Ben has contributed to CDP, establishing it as a resource for the system, and we wish him well.”
Michal Heiplik, EVP of CDP, will take Godley’s place while the organization’s board of directors searches for a permanent leader.
“We are grateful for all [Godley] has contributed to our organization — his leadership in positioning CDP to deliver on its mission — and wish him well,” Heiplik said in an email to CDP clients acquired by Current.
In a statement to Current, Godley said he was “excited about some new opportunities” but had “nothing to share at the moment” about his plans.
Godley co-founded CDP, a fundraising organization affiliated with WGBH in Boston, in 2017. He became CEO the following year. Godley previously served as COO of WGBH and held other titles with the station, including EVP and president of business services.
During his tenure with WGBH, Godley was credited with increasing the station’s operating revenue and endowment, according to a profile on CDP’s website.
“I am incredibly proud of the work I did at WGBH and, most recently, in building up CDP from a simple idea that collaboration and scale could dramatically further our public service mission. We have done that to the tune of hundreds of millions in new revenue to stations,” Godley said in a statement to Current. “I want to thank WGBH, the CDP Board, and specifically Michal Heiplik, my CDP co-pilot for the past nine years, the amazing CDP team and the many CDP clients, system colleagues and friends who’ve entrusted me in this vision. I wish them nothing but the best of luck.”