Tim Brodhead was from 1995 to 2011 President and Chief Executive Officer of The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, a family foundation based in Montreal. The mission of the Foundation is to create a more resilient society by enhancing inclusion, sustainability, and social innovation.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Tim spent twenty-five years in the field of international development as a volunteer in West Africa and then as founding director of several non-governmental organizations, including ACORD (based in London, now Nairobi) and Inter Pares (Ottawa). He co-authored a book, Bridges of Hope? that analyzes the contribution of Canadian non-governmental actors to global development and for five years was Executive Director of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, a national body representing Canadian NGOs working in international development.

In a voluntary capacity he has served on many boards including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Calmeadow Foundation. He is a past chair of Philanthropic Foundations Canada, the national organization of Canadian independent foundations, and currently chairs the ETC Group, which addresses the social impact of new technologies. In addition to serving on the Sauvé Board of Directors, he serves as a board member of the Community Foundation of Greater Montreal, Centraide/United Way Montreal, IMAGINE, Knowledge One, Concordia University and others. He is also involved in the work of Social Innovation Generation (SiG), a collaborative initiative to promote social innovation in Canada, and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo.

In 2001, Tim was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2002, he was awarded an honourary Doctor of Laws degree by Carleton University, in 2005 by Dalhousie University, and in 2011 by the University of New Brunswick.