Foundation For The Carolinas is changing captains at the top. On April 23, 2026, the organization announced that CEO Cathy Bessant is retiring and that President Laura Yates Clark will step into the foundation’s top role. Bessant, a former Bank of America executive who became CEO in January 2024, leaves after roughly two-and-a-half years leading the organization’s civic and grantmaking work. The move hands control of one of the region’s largest philanthropic institutions to Clark, who has served as FFTC’s president since May 2024.
As reported by the Charlotte Business Journal, the foundation’s board announced Bessant’s retirement and simultaneously named Clark as her successor. The Business Journal noted Bessant’s role in pushing forward the foundation’s civic projects and overseeing significant growth during her time at the helm.
Short Tenure, Big Projects
Bessant took on the CEO post at the start of 2024 after a national search, according to Foundation For The Carolinas. Before joining FFTC, she was a longtime Bank of America executive, a corporate pedigree the foundation’s board highlighted when it tapped her for the job.
Carolina Theatre As A Capstone
One of the most visible efforts on Bessant’s watch was the $90 million restoration of the Carolina Theatre, which reopened in March 2025 as part of FFTC’s Belk Place civic campus, according to the Carolina Theatre. The restored venue now anchors the foundation’s uptown campus and is intended to host civic programming alongside performances.
A $5 Billion-Plus Operation
The foundation manages assets in excess of $5 billion and represents nearly 3,000 fundholders, per Foundation For The Carolinas's fact sheet. That leaves Clark in charge of substantial grantmaking resources and donor-advised funds, a scale that helps explain why nonprofits, donors and civic leaders across the 13-county region FFTC serves will be paying close attention to her next moves.
Who Is Laura Yates Clark?
Clark has served as the foundation’s president since May 2024 and previously led United Way of Greater Charlotte, where she focused on neighborhood-level strategies and economic-mobility programs, according to UNC Charlotte. Her nonprofit leadership track record and deep local relationships are likely factors the board weighed in opting for an internal successor.
What To Watch Next
The board’s choice caps a relatively quick leadership shuffle at the foundation and hands a new leader the task of stewarding major civic projects and large pools of philanthropic capital. The appointment was announced to the press, per the Charlotte Business Journal, and observers will be watching how Clark sets priorities for grantmaking and civic engagement through the next municipal and philanthropic cycles.
