A Message from Nadim Matta

As CEO of the Rapid Results Institute, I was blessed over the past two decades with the privilege of introducing 100-Day Challenge work in more than 20 countries, starting in sub-Saharan Africa and working our way from there to the Middle East, the UK, the USA, and Mexico.  

RRI has grown exponentially in impact over the years. It has positively influenced dozens of organizations, both large and small, and it has left a legacy of hope and confidence in the ability to make progress, despite incredible odds, in thousands of communities around the world. 

RRI now has two amazing teams, one based in the US and one in Mexico, each committed to making a small dent in the universe when it comes to the systems they are focused on: homelessness in the US, and the Justice System in Mexico. 

In addition to our incredible team, we are blessed with a powerful culture, clear ambitions, and healthy finances. It is a perfect time for me to exit the scene with full confidence that the organization I co-founded and dedicated a good part of my career to will continue to thrive for many years to come.

Over the past six months, the RRI Board of Directors, with help from a wonderful firm, embarked on a global search for a successor. Equity and fairness were paramount for us in this undertaking. More than 160 terrific external candidates applied to the position, alongside two amazing internal candidates. 

I am excited to announce that our Board asked Sean Whitten, who leads our work in the US & Canada, to become our next CEO. Sean was recruited into the organization six years ago, after serving as a homelessness 100-Day Challenge team leader in Fresno, California. Since then, he grew and diversified our work in the US, and as part of the Leadership Team, he helped shepherd the organization through tough challenges, with grace and wisdom. Most importantly, Sean embodies everything that the RRI stands for in the world. 

It will be such a pleasure to watch the organization travel into the next phase of its journey under Sean’s stewardship. 

The Board also asked Echo Collins-Egan, another Leadership Team member who heads our work in Mexico and Latin America, to step into the role of Chief Impact Officer. Echo joined RRI at around the same time as Sean to work on our program in the UK with NESTA and the National Health Service. Soon after that, she shifted her focus to a project in the justice system in Mexico which she transformed into a movement for change in the country! 

In her new role, Echo will focus primarily on expanding the impact of the RRI into new parts of the world, building on our legacy in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and the UK. 

Among other things that will be on the new Leadership Team’s agenda, Sean & Echo will be working on an exciting rebranding effort that will be launched later this year. Stay tuned for that. 

I am humbled by the great work that both Sean and Echo have done already, and I am eager to support them and the RRI team in the coming years. I will do this as a Senior Advisor during a 3-month transition period starting July 1. And after that as a ‘private citizen’ and an RRI Board member. Between the RRI cheerleader role and spending more time gardening and playing bridge, I hope to find time to continue pursuing some of my other passions... 

I will write about the work we have done and the things we learned from observing amazing people achieve impossible results at warp speed, in places and circumstances where this would be least expected.  And I will continue to focus on the quixotic effort of fighting endemic corruption in Lebanon, and on helping young activists build a country that is worthy of their dreams and aspirations. 

In closing, I’d like to thank the wonderful partners and funders we’ve had over the years, who have made it possible to deliver 100-Day Challenges around the globe. And last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank each and every person who has participated in a 100-Day Challenge that the RRI organized or that was inspired by RRI’s work. You all are truly at the core of our story - and your dedication, enthusiasm, and willingness to take a leap of faith into the unknown has been, and will always remain, the most powerful inspiration behind this work.