Petkova became a Pilotlight Trustee in 2025 and stepped in as Interim CEO in May 2026. Before joining Pilotlight, she held senior commercial, product and marketing roles at Amazon and Canva. She began her career in investment management and financial oversight, including roles at Lehman Brothers and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, where her commitment to supporting the charity sector first developed.
“Iana brings the strategic focus, energy and experience needed to lead Pilotlight into its next phase” said Alison Forrestal, Chair of Trustees at Pilotlight. "The Board is delighted to confirm her appointment and looks forward to deepening and extending our support for charities and their leaders.”
Commenting on her appointment, Petkova said: “I am honoured to be stepping into the role of CEO of Pilotlight at such a crucial time for the charity sector. As charities face growing financial and operational pressures, our work connecting them with the business expertise needed to tackle their most pressing challenges has never been more important.
My experience as a skilled volunteer has shown me first-hand why Pilotlight's model works. The combination of business expertise with structured, carefully facilitated support helps charities tackle complex challenges and build lasting capacity.
As CEO, I want to stay closely connected to the realities charities face and ensure our programmes evolve with their needs. My ambition is to help more charities thrive by growing the community of people who volunteer their skills and expertise.”
As Pilotlight marks its 30th anniversary, it builds on three decades of impact, strengthening charities by bringing the right business expertise to their challenges.