AmfAR CEO Kyle Clifford on Venice, Goals, Science

AmfAR is returning to Venice, holding the foundation’s sixth annual gala in the Italian city on Sunday at the Molino Stucky, the first under the lead of newly appointed chief executive officer Kyle Clifford.

As reported, during the evening, artist Marina Abramović will receive the prestigious amfAR Award of Inspiration, joining past honorees Antonio Banderas, Richard Gere, Ferzan Özpetek and Ava DuVernay.

Actress Pamela Anderson will receive amfAR’s Award of Courage during the event. Her latest movie, “Place to Be,” will premiere Sept. 9 at the city’s Film Festival.

Clifford succeeded Kevin Robert Frost although, having joined amfAR in 2020 as chief development officer, he has already guided fundraising activities and contributed to the expansion of the organization’s international event portfolio. Previously he held leadership roles at The Ireland Funds and City Harvest, developing high-impact fundraising programs and strategic partnerships.

With Clifford and Dr. Andrea Gramatica as vice president and head of research, the organization is maintaining a primary focus on the fight against HIV/AIDS, but is also extending its scope of action to research on cancer, neurological diseases, and autoimmune disorders, among other illnesses. Since its founding 40 years ago, amfAR has raised more than $970 million and funded more than 3,900 research fellowships for research teams worldwide.

The black-tie gala event in Venice will include exclusive musical performances and a live auction of contemporary artworks and unique experiences. The World Gold Council will be presenting sponsor, Chopard will be signature sponsor, and Variety is the media partner.

Here, Clifford shares with WWD his admiration for Venetians and the city’s history, the importance of believing in science, his goals for the foundation and how “to bring more people into amfAR.”

WWD: What are your main goals in the short and long term for the foundation?

Kyle Clifford: As amfAR’s first openly HIV-positive CEO, I have to start from a place of gratitude. I’m a living testament to what’s possible — I’m alive because of organizations like this one, and because of researchers all over the world who kept looking for scientific solutions long after others might have given up. I don’t take that for granted, and it shapes everything about how I see this job.

So goal number one, without question, is staying focused on funding the innovative cure research that can finally put an end to the HIV epidemic. That’s non-negotiable.

At the same time, I’m very aware we have a real opportunity to make an impact beyond HIV — in immune dysfunction and viral research more broadly. We’re launching some exciting new grants this year built around exactly that connection between different chronic disease areas. The goal isn’t to dilute our focus, it’s the opposite — we want the learnings from that work to flow back and benefit HIV research directly.

And beyond the science, I want to bring more people into amfAR. We’re an independent, private foundation — we depend entirely on people choosing to support us — so it matters enormously that we keep engaging new audiences and telling our story well. This is research that touches every household, in Italy and everywhere else in the world, whether people realize it or not. If you believe in science, if you believe in innovation, if you’ve ever personally benefited from a life-saving medication or a life-saving trial, amfAR is an organization that will invest your philanthropic support wisely. I see all of this in terms of opportunity — that’s genuinely what excites me about where amfAR can go from here.

WWD: Are there any specific changes you would like to make?

K.C.: Honestly, change isn’t something I need to introduce at amfAR — it’s who we already are. We’re always evolving, always responding to wherever our researchers around the world tell us the most innovative and exciting work is happening. AmfAR was founded by two visionary women, and that instinct — to fund the research that’s going to change the world, not just the research that’s comfortable — has been core to our DNA since Day One.

So change at amfAR is constant and ongoing by nature. What I challenge myself to do as CEO is push that further: in a moment when AI and other innovations are reshaping so much, how do we get even more innovative ourselves? I don’t see that as a threat to what we’ve built — I see it as an opportunity to embrace, especially in a moment as exciting as this one.

WWD: What are the main strengths and challenges of the foundation?

K.C.: Our greatest strength, without a doubt, is the team I get to work with every day. This is an incredibly talented group of people who genuinely care, who are highly empathetic, who believe in science, and who show up and do the work — workers among workers. Every single person on this team contributes to our success. I like to say we have to hustle to be successful, and that’s exactly what happens here: a tremendous amount of innovation matched with real perseverance. I couldn’t be prouder of them.

As for challenges, I tend to see them as opportunities in disguise — mainly, how do we build scale, and how do we engage new people who haven’t found amfAR yet? I’m very fortunate that thanks to my predecessor and everyone who came before me, we inherited an incredible reputation — respected across the global research community, trusted for the vital role we play in funding early-stage research, and respected by the different donor communities that support us. I have all the assets I need for further success sitting right in front of me, and with this team, we’re going to embrace every one of them and achieve great things.

WWD: Why is returning to Venice with a gala key in your mind?

K.C.: Because Italy has been with us since Day One. Our supporters there — and across Europe, and honestly across every market we work in globally — have believed in this fight since the very beginning of the HIV crisis. The crisis has evolved, the solutions have evolved, but what’s never wavered is the Italian community’s belief in our researchers. Our VP of research, Dr. Andrea Gramatica — who’s bringing real vision into this next chapter of our science — is from Milan himself, which speaks to just how organic and deep those roots run. We’ve never directly funded labs based in Italy, but we do have a long track record of funding Italian research talent wherever in the world that talent leads, and that connection matters enormously to the community there.

So we’re excited to keep building on years of natural, organic support — through Venice, through Milan, through everyone who’s shown up for us in Italy. And I want people to understand: whether you’re supporting our event in Venice, in the United States, or anywhere else, you’re supporting scientists working around the world. The goal, always, is that the science eventually reaches — and benefits — every single household.

WWD: Can you share some personal memories of Venice and some connected to previous galas in the city?

K.C.: This is a story that’s less known, and I’m glad you asked, because for me the most special part of Venice isn’t the red carpet — it’s the Venetians themselves. The local community, the local vendors, the local production partners, the local event spaces we work with every year — it’s genuinely a team effort, and it’s always been a joy to work alongside everyone there. There’s such a warm, positive spirit in that city.

Venice is, to me, one of the most beautiful places in the world to host an event and it’s a city with history at its core, in its very foundations. And that’s exactly why it fits us — as an organization, amfAR is trying to make history too. There’s something natural, authentic and organic about bringing our work to a place like Venice: to celebrate everything good about life, to celebrate scientific progress, alongside the locals, the Italians, and everyone who makes that evening possible.

WWD: What would you like to achieve with this edition?

K.C.: What I try to do at every single one of our events, and especially now as CEO, is greet every guest I possibly can at the red carpet — shake their hand, look them in the eye, and thank them. That’s our starting point: an experience built around gratitude. People have no shortage of causes competing for their attention and their giving — there are real funding challenges everywhere you look, across every kind of organization. But at their core, people give because philanthropy, in its most literal meaning, is a love of humanity. That’s exactly what I see in action at every one of our events.

This year is no different in that sense, though it’s particularly special given how many people we’re bringing together for this cause. As I always say, we don’t host an event — we host an experience. It’s a celebration of life. We bring people together, we raise significant funds for genuinely impactful research, and we have a great time doing it. People come for the party and stay for the cause.

WWD: Why did the organization select Marina Abramović to receive the prestigious amfAR Award of Inspiration?

K.C.: I’ve mentioned the challenges facing researchers today and the way through these challenges is vocal supporters. Of research, of amfAR, of progress. Marina’s lifelong commitment to speaking up and speaking out is one that we admire and she is just the sort of champion we’re going to need if we’re going to succeed in our mission to end HIV as a public health threat.

WWD: The organization is expanding its global mission to cutting-edge research on cancer, neurological diseases and autoimmune disorders. Can you elaborate on this decision?

K.C.: This isn’t mission drift — it’s mission logic. HIV research has always lived at the intersection of virology and immunology, and that intersection turns out to be relevant far beyond HIV. Our new investments in cancer immunology, for instance, are already informing our HIV cure research, because both depend on teaching the immune system to do something it isn’t doing on its own. And as people with HIV live longer — many now well into their 60s and 70s — they’re facing higher rates of cancer and neurocognitive conditions tied to decades of living with the virus. So this expansion isn’t us leaving HIV behind. It’s us following the same science to wherever it can save the most lives, while HIV remains — and will always remain — the center of gravity.