Mark Malloch-Brown said he will step down as president of Open Society Foundations, clearing a path for board chair Alex Soros to create a new leadership team as he restructures the more-than-30-year-old philanthropy giant established by his father George Soros.
Malloch-Brown said in an email sent to grantees and partners Monday that his resignation will be effective June 1. A former deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, Malloch-Brown was tapped by George Soros to lead OSF in 2021. The two are longtime friends.
However, Malloch-Brown said that he would step aside and make way for Alex Soros to choose new leadership for the organization, which is one of the biggest private human rights funders in the world. Binaifer Nowrojee, who is currently vice president of programs at OSF, has been tapped as his successor and was unanimously selected by the foundation’s board. She is Kenyan of Indian origin and is also the first woman from the global south to lead OSF.