BATON ROUGE - President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, John Davies, announced Wednesday he will be retiring at the end of the year.

Davies started his tenure with the Foundation in 1988 and has been their leader for 33 years. During his time as president, he has increased their total assets from $5 million to $722 million.

"My work for the Foundation is my life's work," Davies said. "I am extraordinarily proud of the achievements that our team has delivered to our community. I cannot imagine a more fulfilling career. Much good has been done and much important work lies ahead. I look forward to witnessing the achievements that the Foundation will register in the future."

Foundation Chair Jennifer Eplett Reilly and past Chairs William E. Balhoff and Dennis Blunt are expecting to hire a new leader by late fall after conducting a nationwide search.

Davies will continue as chairman of the Wilbur Marvin Foundation and will work with Commercial Properties Realty Trust to build out The Water Campus.