Malcolm Macleod was appointed president and CEO of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation in 2001 and held that position until 2020, when he became board chair. The Foundation has a private endowment of $300 million and an annual grant budget of $11 million. It makes grants in the United States and Canada and focuses on Indigenous Peoples, low income families, and people with disabilities. Under Malcolm’s leadership the Foundation matured from a young family foundation to a high quality and effective grantmaker. It has achieved top quartile investment returns, developed innovative grantmaking strategies, and attracted a stellar Board of Directors from the United States and Canada.

Born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Malcolm obtained a Bachelor of Arts with first division honors and attended the University of New Brunswick Law School on a Lord Beaverbrook Scholarship, UNB’s most prestigious scholarship. He practiced law in Nova Scotia for 25 years and carried on a litigation practice. During that time, he lectured frequently on litigation and served as chair of his firm’s litigation department and as managing partner. He served as chair of the Nova Scotia Advisory Committee on Federal Judicial Appointments and was appointed King’s Counsel in 1997.

Malcolm is the author of The Practice of Philanthropy: a Guide for Foundation Board and Staff and is active as an educator, speaker, mentor, and consultant to individuals, foundations, and non-profits in the United States and Canada. His volunteer activities include service as a board member of the Fundy Community Foundation in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, a member of the advisory committee to Exponent Philanthropy for catalytic philanthropy, and a coach for the Greater Sum Foundation. In 2026 Malcolm was named by Exponent Philanthropy as one of thirty changemakers in philanthropy over the past thirty years.