LONDON — Bond, the network of British aid organizations, has appointed Stephanie Draper as its new chief executive officer.
Draper, who has a background in sustainable development, is due to start at Bond in mid-March. She is currently deputy chief executive at Forum for the Future, an international NGO working on sustainability and systems change in relation to global issues including nutrition, climate change, value chains, and livelihoods.
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The incoming CEO, who has worked at Forum for the Future for 15 years, is also the co-founder and former chair of the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, which campaigns for a sustainable global fishing industry, and also led the corporate responsibility team at The Work Foundation, which researches labor markets.
In a statement, Draper said she plans to bring her varied experience to Bond and its members, including 400 civil society groups working in international development.
“I am committed to accelerating a just and sustainable future, and eradicating poverty, inequality and injustice. This is what has brought me to Bond. I want to use my extensive experience of bringing sectors together to shape a better future and create the impactful, systemic change that is necessary to achieve the U.N. Global Goals,” she said.
Bond’s chair Caroline Nursey said she welcomed the appointment and praised Draper’s “significant leadership experience … and a track record in helping sectors to evolve and change.”
“Stephanie joins Bond at a point when the challenges and opportunities presented by the SDGs, safeguarding, by Brexit and the pressures on civil society space make the Bond network even more essential in the eradication of global poverty, inequality and injustice,” she added.
Draper takes over from Tamsyn Barton who was head of Bond for a year before leaving to become chief commissioner of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, the U.K.’s aid watchdog.
About the author
Sophie Edwards
Sophie Edwards is a Devex Contributing Reporter covering global education, water and sanitation, and innovative financing, along with other topics. She has previously worked for NGOs, and the World Bank, and spent a number of years as a journalist for a regional newspaper in the U.K. She has a master's degree from the Institute of Development Studies and a bachelor's from Cambridge University.
