Instead of giving hard answers to recent budget questions, new Catholic Relief Services CEO Sean Callahan turned them back to his team — a new, cross-divisional group composed of representatives from finance, overseas operations, donor engagement, legislative affairs and fundraising.
“Of course I want a balanced budget and to reduce budget deficit … but I want to know what they recommend first,” Callahan told Devex during a visit to CRS projects in Niger.
CRS has already established cross-divisional teams for strategy, staff engagement, board and foundation engagement, and their 75th anniversary; more will be created in the future according to agency priorities.
A lesson in likeability with CRS CEO Sean Callahan
It's an approachable matter-of-factness that accompanies Sean Callahan into a room — an attribute that has served him from conflict zones to boardrooms and has now launched him to CRS' top spot.
Devex accompanied the Catholic Relief Services CEO to Niger to learn more about what motivates him.
It’s an approach that Callahan, who assumed leadership of the faith-based nonprofit in January, will continue rolling out as part of a new strategy founded in steadfast building and strengthening of organizational culture.
About the author
Kelli Rogers@kellierin
Kelli Rogers is a global development reporter for Devex. Based in Bangkok, she covers disaster and crisis response, innovation, women’s rights, and development trends throughout Asia. Prior to her current post, she covered leadership, careers, and the USAID implementer community from Washington, D.C. Previously, she reported on social and environmental issues from Nairobi, Kenya. Kelli holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and has since reported from more than 20 countries.
