Shameran Abed has been appointed the new Executive Director of BRAC International (BI), one of the leading development organisations in the world, with effect from August 1.
A qualified Barrister in the UK, Shameran is the son of BRAC founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed.
He succeeds BI’s current Executive Director, Dr Muhammad Musa, who will step down on July 31, BRAC said in a statement on Tuesday. As Executive Director, he will oversee and guide BI’s strategies, programmes and organisational development for scaled impact and sustainable growth, contributing to BRAC's Global Strategy to reach 250 million disadvantaged women (and their dependents), youth, and people living in poverty by 2030.
He will also continue to lead BI’s microfinance operations and oversee the Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI). “The Board of BRAC International is confident that Shameran is the right person to steer BI at this time, driving innovation and positive transformation while ensuring continuity,” Irene Khan, Chair of the Supervisory Board of Stichting BRAC International, was quoted as saying.
“We believe Shameran’s extensive experience at BRAC and his strong strategic and collaborative skills will help us to further align our goals and objectives to achieve the vision of our late founder, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, to make BRAC a global force for poverty eradication and empowerment of the poor.”
Shameran joined BRAC Bangladesh in 2009 and BRAC International in 2012, and has been instrumental in bringing BRAC’s flagship programmes of microfinance and ultra-poor graduation to global scale.
“Under his leadership, BI’s microfinance portfolio has seen impressive growth and a renewed focus on client impact,” BRAC said.
Since 2016, Shameran has also led BRAC's ultra-poor graduation work and played an instrumental role in setting up the UPGI to spearhead global advocacy and provide technical assistance to governments and other organisations.
Shameran also comes with significant Board experience on several non-profit and corporate entities, including the boards of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), BRAC Bank and bKash.
“I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead BRAC International at this critical juncture, working alongside thousands of fearless co-workers and with millions of programme participants, whose courage and enterprise inspire us every day to accelerate and further amplify our impact,” Shameran said.
Born in Bangladesh in 1972, BRAC is an international development organisation that partners with 100 million people globally, building sustainable opportunities for marginalised people and communities to realise their potential. Sir Abed died on December 20, 2019.
