Who's who in #globaldev: April 2022 executive appointments
Jorge Moreira da Silva has stepped down from OECD's Development Co-operation Directorate to run for leadership of Portugal's Social Democratic Party. That’s just one example from a range of job moves and leadership changes from April.
By Catherine Cheney // 29 April 2022Jorge Moreira da Silva has stepped down as director of the Development Co-operation Directorate at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He announced the news via Twitter in mid-April, saying the change would be effective immediately. Moreira da Silva is running for leadership of the Social Democratic Party of Portugal, where he was formerly minister of environment, spatial planning, and energy. That’s just one example from a range of job moves, leadership changes, and executive appointments in the month of April. United Nations Grete Faremo, the undersecretary-general and executive director at the United Nations Office for Project Services, announced her retirement in March. Faremo cited “personal” reasons including her family and health, but the move also comes amid allegations of fraud and corruption at the agency. Read more on that story from Devex. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados, and Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, as new co-chairs of the SDG Advocates group. David Attenborough received a Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Nations Environment Programme. World Bank Corinne Woods, director of communications at the World Food Programme, has announced that she is joining the World Bank as communications director. Zeynep Kantur Ozenci is joining the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, as global sector manager for health and education. Think tanks, NGOs, and development organizations The International Institute for Environment and Development announced the appointment of Tom Mitchell as executive director. Sarah Lucas has been appointed director of IDinsight’s Data on Demand initiative. Tetra Tech announced in March that Andy Griminger had been chosen to serve as Management Systems International’s next president. Christian Aid has appointed Patrick Watt — former director of policy, public affairs, and campaigns who also served as interim chief executive — as chief executive on a permanent basis. Charity Navigator has promoted Laura Andes to chief program officer. She will “lead the continued evolution” of its nonprofit ratings. Academia Spelman College has announced that Dr. Helene Gayle will serve as its new president. The public health physician spent about 20 years with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, directed work on HIV/AIDS and other global health issues at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and served for nearly a decade as president and CEO of CARE before becoming president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust. Economist and development writer Ha-Joon Chang is joining the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Human rights Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch who took over in 1993 and grew the organization from 20 to 450 employees with operations in 100 countries, announced that he is stepping down in August to write a book. Richard Bennett has been appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council to serve for a year as special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. Previously, he was an adviser to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. Regan Ralph announced her decision to step down as president and CEO at the Fund for Global Human Rights at the end of the year. In March, global humanitarian organization Alight named architect and designer Ronald Rael as its inaugural artist-in-residence. Global health Dr. Neil Buddy Shah, managing director of GiveWell, has been appointed chief executive of the Clinton Health Access Initiative. Read Devex’s full story on the move. Dr. Corine Karema is now interim CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, following the departure of Dr. Abdourahmane Diallo. Previously, she was special adviser to the board chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; a senior program officer at the African Leaders Malaria Alliance; and director of Rwanda’s national malaria control program. Since April 1, Dr. Richard Mihigo has been director of COVID-19 delivery, coordination, and integration for COVAX, the “vaccines pillar” of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. Communications David Haroz, previously director of communications at PEPFAR — the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — has joined the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation as chief of staff. Calum Cameron joined Connect Humanity as communications manager. Africa Matthew Petit is taking over as director for African affairs at the White House National Security Council, with a focus on the Sahel region. The African Development Bank announced the appointment of Maurice Goddard as auditor general. Mohy Omer has been sworn in as senior adviser for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Africa bureau. Once a refugee from Sudan, Omer was previously a policy analyst for Africa at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. United States The Inter-American Foundation announced that Sara Aviel will succeed Paloma Adams-Allen as president and CEO. Jane Flegal is joining tech company Stripe’s climate team “to help scale durable & responsible carbon removal,” she wrote on Twitter. She has been senior director for industrial emissions at the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy. The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research has selected Saharah Moon Chapotin as its new executive director. She’s currently executive director of the United States Botanic Garden. United Kingdom Stefan Dercon, policy adviser to the U.K. foreign secretary, announced his resignation from the country’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. This follows the resignation of Moazzam Malik as FCDO’s director general for Africa, which Devex reported in March, along with a slew of other officials who had previously worked at the U.K. Department for International Development. Bronwen Maddox is taking over as director and chief executive of Chatham House. She’ll be leaving the Institute for Government, where she serves as director, on July 31. Timothy Ash, an emerging market economist at BlueBay Asset Management, will also be joining Chatham House as an associate fellow, contributing to its Ukraine, Russia, and Eurasian programs.
Jorge Moreira da Silva has stepped down as director of the Development Co-operation Directorate at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
He announced the news via Twitter in mid-April, saying the change would be effective immediately.
Moreira da Silva is running for leadership of the Social Democratic Party of Portugal, where he was formerly minister of environment, spatial planning, and energy.
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Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.