Marek Kwiatkowski has been director of Alumni and development at Shrewsbury School, Christ Church Oxford, St Paul’s School, London and the University of Adelaide. His hallmark has been the conviction that fundraising is best served by the presentation of a financially disciplined case for support, demonstrating the need for philanthropic funds and the real time benefits that will ensue. He has developed a particular niche in fundraising for endowment, and has been an avid proponent of the necessity to grow and manage it to maximum effect.
Educated at Shrewsbury School and St John’s College, Oxford, he subsequently gained a Master’s degree in Commerce at the University of Birmingham. He has worked in education for most of his life, following an initial three-year period as a research analyst for London stockbrokers, Panmure Gordon and Co.
A substantial part of his career (1981-2001) was spent at Marlborough College where he taught Business Studies and Economics, becoming Head of Faculty in 1987, a position he held for ten years. From 1993 he was also Managing Director of the Marlborough College Summer School, a flagship enterprise for the College which, under his direction, became market leader of its kind in the UK.
In 2001, he took a change in direction, back to his alma mater, as Managing Director of its philanthropic Foundation, his first position in this field. After five successful and innovative years at the helm, he moved to Christ Church, Oxford as Director of Alumni and Development. Here he introduced and advanced the In perpetuity fundraising approach, with consequent impact on other parts of the University. In 2013, Marek spent a brief period at St Paul’s School, London, designing an endowment plan for the introduction of need-blind admission. He returned to Christ Church from 2014-2017, writing a follow-up to the In Perpetuity document, and continuing to raise significant major gifts on the back of it. He officially retired after ten years in office; but he extended his career with a three-year term as Director of Advancement at the University of Adelaide, introducing the same approach university-wide.
The cornerstone of Marek’s career has be a respect and passion for educational and cultural institutions; and for securing enduring benefits through philanthropic support, particularly endowment. His guiding principle is that development projects must be approached with diligence in analysis and planning, and delivered with integrity of purpose.
