amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost Will Retire At the End of 2025
Choosing from in-house, Kyle Clifford will become the new head starting in 2026
Kevin Robert Frost has given thirty years of his life to amfAR’s cause (18 of those years have been as CEO). If you’ve ever met Frost, you know what a delight he is. Tall in stature, he’s gentle, kind, and comical. This life change is a personal one for the man that has helmed an organization that has raised over $900 million in support of AIDS research and HIV prevention.
At the end of 2024, Frost alerted the Board of Trustees of his plans to retire, desiring to spend more time with his family. Kyle Clifford, Chief Development Officer and a member of amfAR’s management team since 2020 will be the new CEO starting January 1, 2026. ““It has been an honor and the privilege of a lifetime to serve at the helm of amfAR and champion its cutting-edge work as a pioneer in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” said Frost in announcement notes. “Since my early days at amfAR when Dr. Ellen Cooper recruited me to the organization, I have watched in admiration the progress scientists in the U.S. and around the world have made to end the HIV epidemic. We’re closer today than ever before to meeting the enormity of the challenge.”
When he joined amfAR in 1994, Frost held various roles before becoming CEO. When he was VP of Clinical Research and Prevention Programs and later VP of Global Initiatives his focus was Asia, where he oversaw the development of amfAR’s TREAT Asia program. The program of 50+ hospitals, community clinics, NGOs and healthcare facilities in 12 countries is a model for regional collaboration on HIV/AIDS.
Since becoming CEO, he has overseen the launch of the amfAR Institute for HIV Cure Research- an initiative with a $20 million grant to the University of California San Francisco. Also:
“In 2014, amfAR created IciStem, a consortium of European researchers aiming to replicate the circumstances by which Timothy Ray Brown was cured of HIV in 2008. Two subsequent cure cases–the London and Düsseldorf patients–were part of the IciStem consortium. To date, eight people are known to have been cured of HIV.”
“It’s hard to adequately express our gratitude to Kevin Robert Frost for all he has done to advance amfAR’s mission since joining the Foundation more than three decades ago,” amfAR Board Co-Chair T. Ryan Greenawalt said in notes. “The passion, dedication, and inspiration Kevin has brought to the role of CEO has enabled amfAR to cement its reputation as a leading biomedical research institution and an authoritative voice on HIV, and to take giant steps towards a cure.”
Board Co-Chair Kevin McClatchy added, “No one is better positioned or better qualified to take the reins at amfAR than Kyle Clifford. Since joining amfAR, Kyle has reinvigorated the Foundation’s development strategies and initiatives, launched successful new fundraising events, sought out new streams of revenue, and inspired the board and staff with his energy and personal devotion to the organization and the cause. We have every confidence in Kyle’s ability to lead amfAR into an exciting new chapter of growth, to new breakthroughs, and to new levels of success in the years ahead.”
Kyle Clifford has been inhouse with amfAR for five years and has 20+ years of experience in both the private and nonprofit sectors, working in fundraising, strategic donor development, and business development. He currently oversees amfAR’s fundraising program, that includes individual and institutional giving, and corporate sponsorship, direct mail, e-philanthropy, and the organization’s private events.
“I am truly honored to step into the role of CEO and deeply grateful to Kevin and the trustees for their trust and support,” said Clifford. “With its bold and innovative funding model, amfAR is driving groundbreaking scientific discoveries that improve global health and unlock new treatments that transform lives. I am incredibly optimistic about the future and look forward to working with our dedicated team to expand amfAR’s impact far beyond HIV.”
“I take immense pride in all we have accomplished together and remain committed to the success of the organization under Kyle’s leadership,” concludes Frost.
