Who's who in #globaldev: February 2021 executive appointments

Linda Thomas-Greenfield returns to the White House as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Thomas-Greenfield is a foreign service veteran who served in key senior positions for over three decades, including as foreign service director general and director of human resources in 2012-2013. She served as assistant secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs from 2013 to 2017 but left during former U.S. President Donald Trump’s term in office. Meanwhile, at the U.S. Agency for International Development, Melissa Hooper was sworn in as senior adviser on the rule of law, human rights, and anti-corruption. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation also announced new members of its leadership team. They include David Marchick as chief operating officer; Sarah Fandell as general counsel; Algene Sajery as vice president of the office of external affairs; Kyle Murphy as senior advisor to the CEO; Michelle Czarniak as deputy chief of staff; and Alex Francés as special assistant to the CEO. United Kingdom CDC, the U.K.’s development finance institution, has appointed Anne Glover and Nikunj Jinsi as members of its newly formed Venture Capital Investment Committee. Glover is CEO of Amadeus Capital Partners and a non-executive director at the Bank of England, while Jinsi formerly served as global head of venture capital at the International Finance Corp. European Union The European Council has appointed Maryem van den Heuvel as its new director-general for external relations and Didier Seeuws as the new director‑general for general and institutional policy. Van den Heuvel will start in her new role on April 1. She will be succeeded by Simon Mordue as chief foreign policy adviser in the cabinet of European Council President Charles Michel. Meanwhile, Olivier Bailly is the new head of a task force on vaccine strategy at the European External Action Service. In Sweden, Per Olsson Fridh was appointed as the new minister for international development cooperation. He previously served as state secretary for international development cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. African Union Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is the new chairman of the African Union. He succeeds South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. International Finance Corporation IFC has appointed Martin Spicer as its new director for Latin America and the Caribbean. Spicer has been with IFC for more than 25 years and most recently served as its director for blended finance. Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Beth deHamel, who served as interim chief executive officer at Mercy Corps, has joined the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation as chief financial officer and vice president of operations. United Nations U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed the following officials to key U.N. positions: - Usha Rao-Monari of India as under-secretary-general and associate administrator of the U.N. Development Programme. - Ligia Noronha of India as assistant secretary-general and head of the New York Office at UNDP. - Khardiata Lo N’Diaye of Senegal as the new deputy special representative for Sudan with the U.N. Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, as well as U.N. resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator. Meanwhile, International Fund for Agricultural Development President Gilbert Houngbo will serve for a second term in office, while Preeti Sinha starts her new role as executive secretary of the U.N. Capital Development Fund. Asian Development Bank ADB has appointed Woochong Um as its new managing director general. Bruno Carrasco succeeds him as director general and chief compliance officer of the bank’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Harry Boyd-Carpenter will serve as the new managing director for green economy and climate action at EBRD. He starts in the new role on April 1. Vital Strategies Mary-Ann Etiebet, executive director of Merck for Mothers, and Lisa Fitzpatrick, founder of Grapevine Health, join the Vital Strategies’ board of trustees. Natural Resource Governance Institute Suneeta Kaimal is the new president and CEO at NRGI. She previously served as its deputy director and chief operating officer. Carnegie Endowment Zainab Usman has joined the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a senior fellow and director of its new Africa program. She was previously with the World Bank where she worked on social sustainability, policy reforms, natural resources management, and disruptive technologies.