Who's who in #globaldev: July 2019 executive appointments

UK Department for International Development The United Kingdom has a new aid chief: Alok Sharma, who formerly served as employment minister at the U.K. Department of Work and Pensions. Sharma is the third official to lead the U.K. Department for International Development in 2019, after Penny Mordaunt and Rory Stewart. Mordaunt left the post in May after being assigned to take on the role of U.K. Secretary of State for Defense. Stewart was appointed in May, but resigned after Boris Johnson became the new prime minister in late July. Sharma is seen as a newcomer in the development sphere, but following his appointment, he released a statement highlighting the United Kingdom’s aid investment and his commitment to “transforming the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, giving them access to quality education and jobs, while promoting Britain’s economic, security, and foreign interests.” Palladium Julie Bishop, Australia’s former foreign affairs minister, has joined Palladium’s board of directors. Bishop brings to the job “a network of global contacts, years of public service experience and background in driving innovation in international development,” according to Palladium’s news release. But the job move has received some criticism. Penny Wong, Australia’s shadow minister for foreign affairs and a Labor Party senator, called it “like another breach of the ministerial standards.” There are concerns that Bishop’s government knowledge and contacts could potentially be used in her new position as the global consultancy firm, which had won about $500 million in contracts from the Department of Foreign Affairs during Bishop’s time as foreign minister, according to Wong. The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is the new board chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health. The new co-chair will be Preeti Sudan, India’s secretary on health and family welfare, who served as board chair in the interim. Clark, who also served as head of the U.N. Development Programme, follows in the footsteps of similarly accomplished female leaders. Michelle Bachelet, currently U.N. high commissioner for human rights and former president of Chile, and Graça Machel, deputy chair of The Elders, previously served as chairs of PMNCH. Start Network Christina Bennett, current head of the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute, will be the new CEO of the Start Network. She will join the newly independent charity in September. Save the Children International Inger Ashing will join Save the Children International as its new chief executive in September. Ashing previously served as director-general at the Swedish Agency against Segregation, deputy director general of the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society, and CEO of the Global Child Forum. Ashing has known Save the Children for decades. She first worked with the charity as a youth advocate at the age of 18 and has been a member of the international board of trustees, according to Robert Good, chairman of Save the Children International. “For over 25 years, Inger has worked to advance Save the Children’s mission, and I believe her leadership and experience she brings to the role will increase our impact and deliver real improvements for children,” he said in a statement. United Nations U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Fayaz King of Zimbabwe as assistant secretary-general and deputy executive director on field results and innovation for UNICEF. He will succeed Shanelle Hall of the United States. European Union Koen Doens will be the new director-general of the European Commission’s Department for International Cooperation and Development, or DEVCO, as Stefano Manservisi retires in October. Doens was previously deputy DG of the department, but has been with the commission for more than a decade. Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network has found its new executive director: Conor Savoy, former director of policy and advocacy at the Global Innovation Fund. Prior to GIF, Savoy served as deputy director of the Project on Prosperity and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and as a researcher focused on U.S. foreign policy and national security at the Council on Foreign Relations. Stop TB Partnership The Stop TB Partnership welcomed new board members: Stéphanie Seydoux, French ambassador for Global Health, and Farhana Amanullah, director of the Pediatric TB Program at the Karachi Indus Hospital. They will serve in the partnership’s board for three years. Winrock International Filipino actress and philanthropist Nanette Medved-Po has joined the board of directors of global nonprofit Winrock International. Medved-Po is the founder of social enterprise Generation Hope, which helps build classrooms in the Philippines.