N. Derek Wilkinson

Managing Director

Washington D.C.

As Managing Director in Boyden’s Washington, DC office, Derek is a lead consultant in the not-for-profit, education, and government & public sector practice groups. He has a particular focus on international development organizations, both for-profit and not-for-profit. 

Throughout his career, Derek has specialized in identifying leadership for organizations of all types: associations and other affinity groups (FINRA/NASD); NGOs and international public service entities (World Bank, IMF); foundations and mission-driven/advocacy enterprises (Ford Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts); not-for-profit healthcare operations (American Red Cross); educational institutions (Georgetown, Smithsonian); and government branches (FAA, IRS, USAC).

Derek has also been recognized as an expert in corporate finance search with extensive experience recruiting CFOs and other specialized roles in internal audit, controls, FP&A, treasury, governance, risk management and compliance. He began his career in the defense and intelligence sector.

Derek's clients talk about the added value he brings to every search engagement. Thanks in part to his certification in behavioral interviewing by Development Dimensions International (DDI), he has a proven ability to very quickly understand an organization at its core and then identify management talent that is best suited to that client's culture and goals. 

His commitment to philanthropic and not-for-profit entities extends beyond his professional work in that sector. In fact, he has been specifically recruited to enhance the development functions of a number of organizations; in one case, the DC Coalition for the Homeless, he led the creation of their entire development/fundraising department. A graduate of Franklin College Switzerland, where he received a BA in international relations, he recently served on that institution’s Board of Trustees.