The Goodwill Central Texas (Goodwill) Board today announced veteran entrepreneur, Rob Neville, as its President and CEO. Neville is an innovative and entrepreneurial business executive with more than 25 years of development and operations experience across the life sciences industry, software, healthcare IT, venture capital and nonprofit sectors.

 

“I am humbled to lead Goodwill Central Texas into its next great phase,” Neville said. “Goodwill is a pillar of our community. Our mission is something I’m incredibly passionate about and is something that speaks to my heart. I look forward to spreading the word through our community about the full expanse of the services we provide, separate and apart from all the good we do in our stores. I welcome the opportunity to help impact the lives of people across Central Texas and I’m excited to help accelerate our organization’s impact with the support of our remarkable team.”

 

In 2021, Goodwill Central Texas helped nearly 9,000 Central Texans change their lives through its mission-based services, including job placement assistance programs for underserved populations, career training through the Goodwill Career and Technical Advancement Academy (GCTA), and adult high school education at The Excel Center for Adults.

 

Goodwill is one of Central Texas’ largest employers and a leader in inclusive hiring practices. Earlier this year, the organization was honored as a We Hire Ability Employer by the Texas Workforce Commission for its commitment to hiring and retaining employees with disabilities.

 

The Goodwill mission is supported by its vast retail presence in local communities across Central Texas. Eighty-nine cents of every dollar spent at one of Goodwill’s 38 stores and outlets in the Greater Austin area helps directly fund the organization’s free services and community programs. Goodwill also currently diverts 79% of all donations from the landfill, with a goal of increasing that to 90% in the near future. 

 

“Rob’s unique life story, coming from humble beginnings to his impressive record of launching and leading multiple companies makes him an ideal leader to both innovate our core retail experience and expand our mission into new areas for even greater impact,” said Margaret Moten, Goodwill Central Texas Board Chair. “I’d also like to extend my gratitude to Jamie Lagarde for his service as our interim President and CEO over the past six months. His leadership was invaluable during this transitional period for our organization, and we are thankful for his service and continued commitment to Goodwill and its mission.” 

 

Neville is a native of South Africa, has lived in Austin for more than two decades and comes to Goodwill from Springbok Ventures. He also brings his experience from his prior work as founder and CEO of Savara (NASDAQ:SVRA). Neville was honored as a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year on three occasions, winning the life science award in 2018. In addition, Neville has served as a member of the Board of Directors at the Austin Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and is currently on the nonprofit board of the Forward Foundation.

 

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  • Rob Neville, Goodwill Central Texas President and CEO
John Langham
Bloom Communications for Goodwill Central Texas
816-686-1071
john@bloomcommunications.com