Philanthropist Jonathan Ayers shares his prediction for fundraising at global conservation organization Panthera, whose board he shares, and his bullish outlook for the U.S. economy.
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Jonathan Ayers, the former head of IDEXX Laboratories Inc. who was injured in a catastrophic bike accident in late June 2019, recently bolstered his commitment to philanthropy when he and his wife, Helaine, signed a pledge to give the majority of their wealth to charitable causes.
“We had already concluded that we wanted to distribute our capital to our important philanthropic causes,” Ayers said via Zoom from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after joining the Giving Pledge movement along with hundreds of other philanthropists from 28 countries. “The Giving Pledge has documented what we were already planning on doing.”
Philanthropy is more than about money for Ayers, who chairs the board of Panthera, a New York-based nonprofit devoted to conserving 33 species of cats in the wild.
Ayers predicts that Panthera’s fundraising will accelerate further in 2022 amid “exciting” efforts in the United States such as working with local tribes in Washington State to understand pumas and their social structures and how they’re threatened.
Besides seeking someone to succeed him as chairman of Panthera’s finance and audit committee, Ayers says the group needs more board members committed to conservation and with a financial background like he has brought to the organization.
Still involved in IDEXX as a board member, Ayers predicts continued expansion of the pet diagnostics market he says bodes well for the Westbrook-based veterinary diagnostics and software firm he led for 17 years before his accident.
 “The total addressable market is seven times the current size,” he says, “so I think there is growth as far as the eye can see, and IDEXX is continuing to be a leading innovator.” Ayers adds that he’s proud of the current management team “that didn’t drop a beat at the time of my accident,” led by President and CEO Jay Mazelsky.
“I hired Jay in 2012,” Ayers says, “and he grew into being a great CEO successor.”
As for the wider U.S. economy, Ayers says he’s bullish mainly because of COVID therapeutics in the pipeline that look “amazingly effective,” especially after the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer’s first-of-its kind pill for high-risk patients ages 12 and over in late December.
“I’m very optimistic three to six months out,” he says. “Our economy could be robust even though we have issues with the supply chain and job shortages. On balance I’m very optimistic.”
