Who's who in #globaldev: May 2020 appointments

Wellcome Australia’s first female prime minister is the next chair of U.K. charity Wellcome. Julia Gillard, who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, will succeed Eliza Manningham-Buller at Wellcome. Manningham-Buller steps down from her position in April 2021. Gillard is currently chair of the Global Partnership for Education and Australian nonprofit Beyond Blue. European Union The European Commission has appointed well-known virologist Peter Piot as special adviser to European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on the COVID-19 response. Von der Leyen said Piot’s experience “will help guide our actions to accelerate the development and deployment of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments to tackle the coronavirus, and to develop a strategy to prepare us for any future epidemics,” according to an official statement. Piot is known for his research on Ebola and HIV. He was founding executive director of UNAIDS, and is currently director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. In an interview published in the outlet Science last month, Piot said he tested positive for COVID-19 in March. World Bank The World Bank has a new chief economist. Carmen Reinhart, former senior policy adviser and deputy director at the International Monetary Fund, is taking on the role effective June 15. Reinhart has been an adviser and contributor to World Bank debt transparency discussions and a member of the IMF-led external advisory group providing input on policy changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She currently serves on the advisory panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. New Development Bank Brazilian economist and diplomat Marcos Troyjo is the next president of the New Development Bank. He starts in July. Troyjo is currently Brazil’s deputy economy minister and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on International Trade and Investment. NDB’s board of governors also appointed Anil Kishora as the bank’s new vice president. Kishora worked for almost four decades at the State Bank of India and served in various senior positions. His last role at SBI before joining NDB was deputy managing director and chief risk officer. United States Alice Miller is the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s first chief risk officer. Her work involves understanding and managing risks in DFC investments in emerging markets “while promoting development and advancing U.S. foreign policy.” Prior to her appointment, Miller was with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, where she was also the first chief risk officer. She was previously chief financial officer for the nonprofit Financing for Development Corp. and served as chief risk officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Development Credit Authority. Caritas Caritas Europa has elected Monsignor Michael Landau as its new president. Landau, both a priest and biochemist, is Caritas Austria’s president. He takes on the role as the organization prepares for a new eight-year strategic framework. EAT The board of trustees of EAT, a nonprofit focused on transforming the global food system, has appointed Arne Haugen as its new chief executive officer. Haugen will work alongside EAT Executive Chair Gunhild Stordalen on organizational structure and development and in overseeing the organization’s daily operations at its Norway headquarters. Haugen, who has decades of experience working in the hospitality industry, was involved in the early-stage planning that established EAT, according to a news release. African Business Coalition for Health The African Business Coalition for Health, a nonprofit advocacy group launched in February 2019, has appointed Mories Atoki as its chief executive officer. Atoki has years of experience as senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers and currently serves as member of the advisory board of Partners for Review, a United Nations-supported initiative aimed at standardizing sustainable development reporting. ABCHealth was founded by the Aliko Dangote Foundation and the Global Business Coalition for Health. Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council Dominic O’Neill is the next executive director of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. He starts in his new role in September. O’Neill is currently chief operating officer of World Wildlife Fund International and a nonexecutive director on the board of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition. He also serves as U.K. executive director on the board of the African Development Bank. O’Neill comes to the role in the midst of a transformation at WSSCC. Under its new 2021-2025 strategy, the organization will become a global financing mechanism, called the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund, to “address the void in the global response to the sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health crisis.” The new fund will begin operations in January 2021. United Nations United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Sanda Ojiambo of Kenya as the new executive director of the UN Global Compact. She succeeds Lise Kingo of Denmark. Prior to the appointment, Ojiambo served as head of sustainable business and social impact at Safaricom. Between 2008 and 2010, she was senior manager of the Safaricom Foundation and M-PESA Foundation, according to the news release. Other U.N. appointments include Shen Xiaomeng, United Nations University’s new vice rector in Europe and director of its Institute for Environment and Human Security. She starts in her new roles in August. Wendy Rhein, meanwhile, is the new chief of staff at World Food Program USA. DFID Judith Porter is the U.K. Department for International Development’s new communications chief. Prior to this, Porter served in senior communications roles in different government departments and was communications director for the charity Tommy’s, which funds research and provides information on pregnancy, according to PRWeek.