Who's who in 2020? 10 key leadership changes in global development

MANILA — 2020 ushered in new leaders in some of the world’s biggest development institutions. Some of them have taken up newly created positions, while others have taken over institutions in need of a restart. Here are some of the biggest leadership announcements Devex reported in 2020, from the most recent: 1. Anil Soni, WHO Foundation CEO Anil Soni, a global health leader who has worked in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, will lead the WHO Foundation, effective Jan. 1. Among his first priorities would be raising the money to capitalize the foundation and build his team, who would play a vital role in raising the foundation’s ambitious $1 billion target in the next three years. 2. Kalipso Chalkidou, Global Fund head of health finance Kalipso Chalkidou, currently director of global health policy at the Center for Global Development and professor at Imperial College London, will be starting in the new role at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in January 2021. She will be responsible for shaping the Global Fund’s new Health Finance Department. In a statement, Global Fund Executive Director Peter Sands said Chalkidou will build on the fund’s work in “catalyzing increased domestic resources for health.” 3. Ngozi Onkonjo-Iweala, WTO director general Development and finance expert Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has received the support of the majority of countries in the World Trade Organization chief race, and endorsement from the organization’s selection panel. Opposition from the United States and the subsequent U.S. presidential elections have delayed her appointment. But even with the uncertainty hanging over her confirmation, Okonjo-Iweala said she aims to bring the WTO “back to a sense of purpose” and to restore “trust” among its members. 4. Odile Renaud-Basso, EBRD president Odile Renaud-Basso, who was director-general at the French Treasury, assumed office in November as the new president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. She’s the bank’s first female president in its 29-year history. In an interview with the Center for Global Development prior to her taking over the bank’s presidency, Renaud-Basso said one of her top priorities for which she would like her term to be judged is the bank’s ability to assist in countries’ economic development while ensuring they are contributing to the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change. 5. Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, Mercy Corps CEO Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, formerly chief operating officer at CARE, comes to the job following a controversial year at Mercy Corps. The charity received criticism over its handling of sexual abuse allegations involving one its co-founders, which led to its longtime CEO resigning. Following an investigation into the charity’s response to the sexual abuse allegations, and evaluation of the charity’s sexual abuse policies and procedures, the organization’s board and executive team committed to a set of actions that included a review of Mercy Corps’ culture expected to take place in fiscal year 2021. 6. Gabriela Bucher, Oxfam International executive director Gabriela Bucher has taken on Oxfam International’s leadership amid an organizational reform. In May, Oxfam announced plans of withdrawing from 18 countries and large staff layoffs. The COVID-19 pandemic brought financial pressures to the organization, leading to an acceleration of its organizational restructuring plans that started in 2018. Oxfam’s board also agreed on a Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan in July, which asks the Secretariat and Oxfam affiliates to set goals on equity and diversity in governance and leadership teams. 7. Anita Zaidi, Gates Foundation’s first gender equality president Before taking the lead on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s work on gender in November, Anita Zaidi was already working to advance women’s leadership in global health and to improve women and girls’ access to care. In a conversation with Devex, she identified some sectors where the foundation and global health programs can better integrate gender. She also raised the question: “Why can we not think of women at the center of global health and design services that serve women’s needs?” 8. Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, GEF CEO Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Costa Rica’s former minister of environment and energy, became CEO and chairperson of the Global Environment Facility in September. In an interview with Devex, Rodriguez said the world has changed enormously since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, and GEF needs to mobilize more resources to effect change in today’s environment. “If we continue funding the GEF the way we have done it in these 25-plus years, we will never become a global agent of change,” he said. 9. Andrew Herscowitz, U.S. DFC first chief development officer The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation started operations in January 2020, and has since filled in key positions. That included Andrew Herscowitz, the agency’s first chief development officer; Alice Miller as its first chief risk officer; and Anthony Zakel as its first inspector general. Here’s the latest on DFC. 10. Shawn Baker, USAID first chief nutritionist Shawn Baker, formerly director for nutrition at the Gates Foundation, took on the role of U.S. Agency for International Development first chief nutritionist amid a challenging year for global nutrition. COVID-19 has exacerbated levels of hunger and malnutrition globally. In July, an analysis from the Standing for Nutrition Consortium estimated that 6.7 million children under 5 years of age could suffer from wasting in 2020 without timely action, leading to 10,000 additional child deaths per month.