Leadership: Executive Body

 

 

Mahabub Hossain
Executive Director

Dr Hossain is an internationally renowned development economist. Prior to joining BRAC, Dr Hossain had been the head of the Social Sciences Division and programme leader of the Rainfed Ecosystems Programme of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines. Prior to joining IRRI, he worked as the director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) from 1989 to 1992. Dr Hossain is known for his substantial contributions to research on rural development and agriculture policy in South and Southeast Asia.

He is the founding member of the North South University Foundation, and serves as a member of the BRAC University Board. Dr Hossain is a member of Technical Review committee of the Global Fund for Agricultural and Food Security, Project Advisory Council of the HarvestPlus Challenge Programme of CGIAR, and Rice Advisory Board for Syngenta Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. He is also the member of the Global Knowledge Advisory Commission of the World Bank.

Dr Hossain obtained his Masters in Economics in 1969 from Dhaka University and PhD in Economics in 1977 from the University of Cambridge, UK. Throughout his distinguished career, he has authored/co-authored 11 books and research monographs and contributed more than 150 papers in refereed journals and edited books. He was awarded the first Gold Medal from the Bangladesh Agricultural Economist Association (in 1985) in recognition of outstanding contribution to understanding the operation of rural economy in Bangladesh. He is president elect of the Asian Society of Agricultural Economics for 2011-2015.

 

Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali   
Managing Director, Social Enterprises & Investments

Mr Ali served at different levels in local and international banking sector. Prior to joining BRAC, he served as the deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank. With his appointment as country head and general manager of Grindlays Bangladesh in March 1997, Mr Ali became the first Bangladeshi to head a major international bank in Bangladesh. In July 2000, following the takeover of ANZ Grindlays by Standard Chartered Bank, Mr Ali was appointed the CEO of the Standard Chartered Group in Bangladesh, heading both Standard Chartered Bank and Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank. His banking experience includes stints in India, United Kingdom and Australia. Mr Ali was elected a Fellow of the Bangladesh Institute of Bankers in 2001.

He is the chairman of BRAC Bank Ltd, BRAC EPL Investments Ltd, BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Ltd, bkash Ltd, BRAC Sajaan Exchange Ltd, and also the director of several organisations, including BRACNet and Delta BRAC Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DBH). Mr Ali is a member of the Global Steering Committee of the Performance Based Grants Initiatives of the International Finance Corporation, and the Technical Advisory Committee of Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund. He also served as a member of the governing body of PKSF. At present, he is the vice chairman of Bangladesh Association of Banks.

He received a number of awards including C R Das and Atish Dipanker Gold Medal for Banking in 1995 and 1999 and ‘CEO of the Year’ awarded by Junior Chamber International, Bangladesh and Bangladesh Management Institute in 2000 and 2001 respectively.

Mr Ali received his BA (Honours) and MA in Economics from University of Dhaka.

 

 

 

 

Faruque Ahmed
Executive Director,
BRAC International Programmes

Mr Ahmed currently serves as the executive director of BRAC International. He previously held the position of senior director of BRAC International. He is also a member of the Executive Management Committee, the organisation’s management decision making committee. Prior to this, he was the director of BRAC Health programme for 10 years and played a critical role in shaping its overall health strategy. He is an experienced implementer of effective health projects in partnership with the government, other NGOs and private sectors. Under Mr Ahmed’s leadership, the health programme has scaled up national partnerships for tuberculosis and malaria control, and has implemented innovative community based programmes such as essential health care, maternal, neonatal and child health nutrition, eye care and many other critical public health interventions in Bangladesh. Prior to joining BRAC, Mr Ahmed worked for the Health Nutrition and Population team of the World Bank office in Bangladesh as senior operations officer. He started his career as a research and planning officer in 1976, and then worked in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Mr Ahmed serves as a member of the working group of Bangladesh Health Watch – a civil society initiative, vice chair of Bangladesh Country Coordination Mechanism for Global Funds for AID Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFTAM), and a member of World Bank Civil Society Consultative Group on Health, Nutrition and Population. Formerly, he represented the civil society for the GAVI Alliance Board. Mr Ahmed completed his Masters in Health Sciences from Johns Hopkins University, and Masters in Economics from University of Dhaka.

 

 

S N Kairy
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)


Mr Kairy is the chief financial officer (CFO) of BRAC and BRAC International. He is also a member of the Executive Management Committee, the organisation’s management decision making committee. Following the completion of his MCom in accounting from Dhaka University, he joined the
accounts section of BRAC in April 1982.

He has worked at BRAC at various positions; he progressed through the roles of chief accountant, finance manager, head of Finance, director of Finance and Accounts, and was appointed to his current position in May 01, 2011.

Mr Kairy supervises the overall financial control and management over the sources and applications of funds for BRAC activities, both development and commercial. His responsibilities include ensuring effective financial control, transparency and accuracy of financial data and reporting. Mr Kairy is responsible for ensuring the effective Procurement and Asset Management of BRAC.

He is currently serving on the board of BRAC Bank Limited as a director nominated by BRAC.

 

  

 

Asif Saleh
Senior Director,
Strategy, Communications and Capacity Division

Mr Saleh is the senior director of Strategy, Communications and Capacity Division for BRAC and BRAC International. Previously, he served as the director of Communications. Prior to joining BRAC, he was an executive director at Goldman Sachs until 2008 when he decided to return to Bangladesh and work in the development sector. He started Driven Partnership, a social enterprise which worked with microenterprises. Over a career span of 12 years with Goldman Sachs in New York and London, he served in various management roles in their Equities and Asset Management division. His previous work experiences also include Glaxo Wellcome, NorTel and IBM. On his most recent role, he served as a policy specialist for the UNDP funded project Access to Information Programme (A2i) based at the Prime Minister’s Office and facilitated various ICT initiatives for development sector.

He is the founder of Drishtipat, a global organisation with chapters across the globe that focuses on human and economic rights of Bangladeshis, and the co-founder of Drishtipat Writers’ Collective. He blogs and writes regularly for leading dailies in Bangladesh and in international magazines on society, politics, development, entrepreneurship and diaspora centric issues. His write-ups have been published in The Guardian, Himal, The Daily Star, New Age etc. He also teaches social media at University of Liberal Arts of Bangladesh and BRAC University periodically.

Mr Saleh was recognised for his work and achievements by the Asia Society’s Asia 21 programme in 2008, the Bangladeshi American Foundation in 2007, and was selected as an Asia 21 fellow in 2012. Mr. Saleh holds a Bachelors in Computer Science, and an MBA in Management from NYU Stern School of Business. He is currently a member of the advisory board of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust and a board member of Institute of Informatics and Development (IID).
 

 

 

 

Babar Kabir
Senior Director,
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Disaster, Environment and Climate Change

Dr Kabir is the senior director of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and the Disaster, Environment and Climate Change (DECC) programmes. He is also a member of the Executive Management Committee, the organisation’s management decision making committee.

Dr Kabir is an environmentalist, who obtained his PhD in Hydrogeology from the Azerbaijan State University. He has made significant contribution in the field of sustainable environment. He has experience working with, and in several government institutions, such as the UN, multilateral and bilateral development agencies, NGOs, and international and national consulting firms. Prior to joining BRAC, Dr Kabir was working in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of Bangladesh as national programme coordinator for their Sustainable Environment Management Programme (SEMP).

He has over 15 publications in national and international journals. He has co-authored a chapter on ‘Mitigation Strategies’ of the WHO monograph on arsenic initiated by UN ACC.
 

 

 

 

Tamara H. Abed
Senior Director,
Aarong
BRAC Dairy and Food Project
Ayesha Abed Foundation

Ms Abed currently serves as the senior director of Aarong, BRAC Dairy and Food Project (BDFP), and the Ayesha Abed Foundation (AAF). She is also a member of the Executive Management Committee, the organisation’s management decision making committee. She joined Aarong in 2002 as the general manager, Design and Product Development. She became head of Aarong and AAF in June 2005.

In May 2006, she was given responsibility of BDFP and became its director in January 2007. She completed her MBA in Finance from Columbia University and BSc (Economics) from London School of Economics and Political Science. Ms Abed started her career as an investment banker in Peregrine Capital Ltd in Dhaka, and later worked in Goldman Sachs in Mergers and Strategic Advisory in New York. She also worked for BRAC’s urban programme for a year in 1998. Ms Abed is currently serving on the board of BRAC Bank as a director nominated by BRAC.

 

  

Directors

 

 

 

Ahmed Najmul Hussain
Director,
Procurement, Estate and Management Services
Road Safety

Mr Hussain is the director of Procurement, Estates and Management Services, and Road Safety programme. A graduate of Police Staff College, UK, Mr Hussain worked in a variety of law enforcement capacities. He was superintendent of police in seven districts, as well as the Additional Inspector General of Bangladesh Police and Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Previously, he served as Lieutenant to Major in the Pakistan and Bangladesh Army. Mr Hussain’s other positions include chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, and team leader of the Community Road Safety Initiatives Project of the World Bank.

While at BRAC, Mr Hussain has been responsible for Advocacy, Estate, Logistics, Transport, Security, Construction, IT Systems, Telecommunications, Road Safety and Central Store.

He has received different awards, including the Good Service Badge of Bangladesh Police in 1994, and the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award, UK in 2002.
 

 

 

 

AIM Monsoor
Director,
Construction and Maintenance

Mr Monsoor is the director of Construction and Maintenance at BRAC. He joined the organisation in 2005 contributing his vast experience in cost saving construction, along with improving the quality of work using modern fittings and enhancing the aesthetic beauty of newly built structures. Mr Monsoor has developed the “Construction Procurement Policy” and “Maintenance Manual”, and contributed immensely in developing ‘‘National Green Building Code”. He has motivated his colleagues in working as a team to work for the development and maintenance of BRAC’s establishment all over Bangladesh.

During his 35 year experience in engineering practices in national and international assignments, he has gained commendable knowledge in building construction, modern technology, energy efficient environment friendly structures, waste water and sewage treatment plant, and sustainable construction.

He was born in Sunamgonj, and completed his graduation in civil engineering from BUET in 1977. He is a life member and Fellow Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh and also a member of Canadian Council of Engineers.

 

 

 

Anna Minj
Director,
Community Empowerment
Integrated Development

Ms Minj joined BRAC in April 2009 and she is the director of Community Empowerment Programme, and Integrated Development Programme. She has obtained her Master’s degree (MSc) in Zoology and completed her postgraduate level diploma in Project Planning and Management from IDPM, Manchester University, UK. She started her career with Caritas Bangladesh as programme officer of Child Care and Orphanage Management programme from August 1987 to January 1991, after which she served as the project coordinator of Integrated Women’s Development Programme for about 12 years (January 1991-April 2002) in the same organisation.

Thereafter, she joined with CARE Bangladesh and served in different promoted positions with different capacities, such as gender advisor – Programming, Coordinator for Gender Equity and Diversity, and finally as the head of Human Resource and Gender Equity and Diversity during April 2002 - March 2009 . In between, she also served as a social worker with Camden Cross Roads, London and volunteer support to CAFOD, UK.

Ms Minj affiliated with a number of national and international level forums and networks in the field of development, gender and indigenous peoples right. She also serves as board member of several national and international development organisations and foundations.

 

 

 

Bhaskar Das
Chief People Officer,
Human Resource Division

Mr Das has been appointed the Chief People Officer, Human Resource Division, effective as of April 2013. Prior to joining BRAC, he worked as an independent consultant.

Mr Das completed his Bachelor of Science and Post-Graduate Diploma (Hons.) in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations. He has more than two decades of experience in managing talent at all levels. He has worked in the areas of strategy alignment, process effectiveness, and coaching.

He is qualified as Lead Assessor for ISO, an accredited interpreter in several aptitudes and psychometric instruments, and a Fellow and faculty member of Sumedhas – The Academy of Human Context.

His current professional interests include organisational psychology and career management. He has guided many high performing managers in designing meaningful careers.

 

 

 

 

Faustina Pereira
Director,
Human Rights and Legal Aid Services

Dr Pereira joined BRAC in September 2007 as the director of the Human Rights and Legal Aid Services programme.

She is a lawyer, a human rights activist and an author. She obtained her doctorate in International Human Rights Law in 1998 from the University of Notre Dame, USA, and completed her post-doctorate in 2002 from the National University of Ireland, Galway, as a Bank of Ireland Fellow. Prior to joining BRAC, Dr Pereira served as the director of Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK).

Dr Pereira, an internationally established writer has authored the book “The Fractured Scales: The Search for a Uniform Personal Code”, which was awarded a Gold Medal by the Asiatic Society. In 2006, she was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
 

 

 

 

Kaosar Afsana
Director,
Health, Nutrition and Population

Dr Afsana has been working at BRAC for almost 20 years, and currently is the director of Health, Nutrition and Population. She is also a professor at the James P. Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Bangladesh. Dr Afsana has an MD with MPH from International Health from Harvard University, and PhD in Public Health from Edith Cowan University, Australia.

She has been awarded many prestigious awards including the Woman of Distinction Award 2011 by the NGO Committee of the Women Status, New York, for her contribution to maternal health and women’s empowerment, Presidents’ Prize for the best thesis on Asian topic by Asian Studies Association of Australia, DK Agencies India’s award for the best Australian doctoral thesis on an Asian subject and the 2003 University Research Medal and the Faculty Research Medal for the best PhD thesis from Edith Cowan University.

Dr Afsana authored two books, Disciplining Birth: Power, Knowledge and Childbirth practices in Bangladesh, and Discoursing Birthing Care, and published research articles in peer-reviewed journals and books. She represents BRAC in many national and international organisations as a member and plays a special role in providing technical support and policy decision making in women and child health, and nutrition.
 

 

 

 

Moushumi  M. Khan
Director,
Legal and Compliance

Ms Khan is BRAC’s first director of Legal and Compliance. She also serves as the secretary to the board. Under her leadership BRAC built Bangladesh’s largest in-house legal department with a team of over 65 lawyers and paralegals. She and her team provide legal support on corporate, civil, employment, land, international, and compliance issues. She initiated the first compliance review of BRAC social enterprises, lands and International, establishing a database of all BRAC legal matters.

Ms Khan has 16 years of legal and economic development experience. Prior to joining BRAC, she was in the private practice in New York and Washington DC. She has advised non-profits including the Grameen Bank, and companies designing public and private partnerships. Ms Khan is listed in the UN Alliance of Civilisations’ Global Expert Finder as an expert on religion, human rights and globalisation. She is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. She serves on the Board of Overseers for the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship and was appointed a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She has been featured in the national and international media, including Slate, the Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Al Jazeera, and Al Arabiya on entrepreneurship and identity. Her public service has been recognised with a citation from the New York State Assembly.

Ms Khan earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School, and a Master’s in Public Administration degree at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where she was also a Zuckerman Fellow at the Centre for Public Leadership. She received an A.B. degree in Critical Social Thought, cum laude, from Mount Holyoke College. She was awarded a Certificate in General Course in the Government Department of the London School of Economics.

 

 

 

Nanda Dulal Saha
Director,
Internal Audit

Mr Saha FCA, currently holds the position of director of Internal Audit for BRAC and BRAC International. He also serves on the board of BRAC EPL Investments Limited, having received his nomination by BRAC in 2009. Mr Saha joined BRAC in 2007 as head of Internal Audit, having more than 12 years of working experience in internal control system, assurance, accounting, compliance management, risk management services, tax matters, and legal affairs.

Prior to joining BRAC, he worked with Rahman Rahman Huq, Chartered Accountants, a member firm of KPMG International, in audit and assurance services for about four and half years.

Mr Saha is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh and a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), USA and IIA Bangladesh. He is also a member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), USA and ISACA Dhaka, Bangladesh Chapter. He has been nominated as Director – Membership of the ISACA Dhaka, Bangladesh Chapter for the period 2011-2013.

Mr Saha is currently member of Technical and Research Committee, Quality Assurance Board, Professional Development Committee, SAFA, CAFA & International Affairs Committee, Committee on Professional Accountants in Business and Information & Communication Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh. He was also member of the Review Committee for Best Published Accounts and Reports of the same Institute.

 

 

 

Rabeya Yasmin
Director,
Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction – Targeting the Ultra Poor

Ms Yasmin is the director of challenging the frontiers of poverty reduction – targeting the ultra-poor (CFPR-TUP) programme in BRAC. She joined the organisation in 1995, and has obtained extensive experience in designing, planning, implementing, and managing the livelihood development, social protection, and microfinance programmes for the ultra-poor. She has been one of the key persons in the overall development of BRAC’s flagship CFPR-TUP programme and has made significant contributions in the development of poverty reduction programmes in other countries.

She serves as a board member of several national and international foundation and development organisations, member of project advisory committee of several national NGOs.

Ms Yasmin obtained her Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Dhaka, and in Poverty and Development from the IDS, Sussex University, UK. 

 

 

 

Safiqul Islam
Director,
Education

Dr Islam is the director of BRAC’s Education programme. He received his PhD in Economics from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1985.

Prior to joining BRAC in 1987, Dr Islam was a research associate at Center for Integrated Rural Development for Asia and Pacific (CIRDAP), a multi-government research organisation. At BRAC, he held different positions, including senior research economist at the Research and Evaluation Division, and programme coordinator at the Monitoring Department till 1995. Meanwhile, he also worked for UNICEF in Pakistan during 1997-8 as a consultant to the government of North-West Frontier Province on different aspects of non-formal education. He was seconded to SIDA to work for the Directorate of Non-Formal Education of the government of Bangladesh during 2001-2. He was the head of PACE (Post- Primary Basic and Continuing Education) and BEP at BRAC before being appointed to his current position.

 

 

 

Saieed Bakth Mozumder
Director,
Tea Estates

Mr Mozumder serves as the director of BRAC’s Tea Estates division. He joined James Finlay & Co Ltd while studying History at Dhaka University.

Prior to joining BRAC in 2003, Mr Mozumder worked as assistant manager, divisional manager, and subsequently promoted into the office of the superintendent of James Finlay, Doloi and Noyapara Tea Companies incorporated in the U.K. He was visiting superintendent and then a general manager in National Tea Co Ltd. In 1993, Mr Mozumder was appointed as general manager of Tea Holding (Transcom Group). He was also employed by HRC Group to develop two estates under Tea, Rubber & Afforestation as general manager, and subsequently as executive director of Plantation.

Mr Mozumder was secretary of Balisera Planters’ Club, and represented the Bangladeshiyo Cha Sangshad on a variety of Boards and Committees. He was also director of the Board & Executive Committee of One Bank Ltd and was also director in the Board of National Tea Company Ltd.

 

 

 

Sheepa Hafiza
Director,
Gender Justice and Diversity
Safe Migration Facilitation

Ms Hafiza is the director of the Gender Justice and Diversity, and the Safe Migration Facilitation programme. She started her career with BRAC in 1990 as faculty of Management Development programme. She subsequently became the manager of GQAL, the programme coordinator of BRAC Training Division in 1999, general manager of Human Resource in 2000, programme head of BRAC Advocacy and Gender in 2003, the first director of BRAC’s HR in 2005, and director of BRAC Training Division in 2008.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed her as one of the advisors to the UN Peace Building Fund (PBF). She is a member of the Civil Society Advisory Group- CSAG of UN Women, Bangladesh. Additionally, she serves as a governing body member of the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC), a Trusty Board member of the government’s National Women and Children Development Implementation and Evaluation Committee, chapter member of South Asian Human Rights (SAHR), and executive member of Women in Politics of the South Asian Partnership- SAP.

Ms Hafiza received the Communication for Sustainable Social Change Award in 2010 from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. She was also awarded by the Fulkoli Foundation in 2007, from HRDC on Human Development Management in 2008. She co-authored the BRAC technical manual “An Action Learning Approach to Gender and Organisational Change” in 1997. Her recent publication is from Kumarian Press, A Case on Building Advocacy Capacity: BRAC Advocacy Unit in the book Confronting Power by Prof Jeff Unsicker, 2012.

Ms Hafiza obtained an MA in Intercultural and International Management, and a post-graduate diploma in NGO Leadership and Management (NLM) from SIT Graduate Institute in the US, in collaboration with the BRAC Global Partnership. She also completed an MA with honours in Public Administration from the University of Dhaka.

 

 

 

Sukhendra Kumar Sarkar
Director,
Administration, Monitoring and Investigation

Mr Sarkar is the director of Administration, Monitoring and Investigation. He also oversees the Partnership Strengthening Unit, and Transport department. He received a Masters in Management from the Asian Institute of Management in Manila, The Philippines and Bachelor of Education (BEd) from Rajshahi University. Prior to joining in BRAC, Mr Sarkar was in the teaching profession.

Mr Sarkar joined BRAC as the field motivator of the Sulla Project (an intergrated rural development project) in 1973. He progressed through positions serving as area manager, regional manager, programme manager, project administrator, programme coordinator, and director. He became director of the Rural Credit programme in 1992, director of Monitoring and Audit in 1994, and was appointed to his current position in 2003. In addition to his current position in BRAC, he also holds the position of treasurer at BRAC University.

Throughout his career at BRAC, Mr Sarkar has dedicated himself to many noteworthy projects, including the Oral Therapy Extension programme, Child Survival programme, Women’s Health Development, the Rural Credit programme and the Management Development programme.
 

 

 

 

Tanwir Rahman
Director,
Finance

Mr Rahman is currently the director of Finance at BRAC and BRAC International. He obtained his Bachelors of Business Administration in Accounting from Boise State University. He is also a CPA (Certified Public Accountant). He worked as an intern in Morrison Knudsen Corporation’s (now URS Corporation). After his graduation, he worked as a full time accountant in the same organisation. After passing his Uniform Certified Public Accounting, in 1999 he was promoted as senior accountant.

Through his 15 years career in the financial management and reporting arena in United States of America, he worked in various capacities, as the divisional controller for HBG (Hollandsche Beton Groep) Royal BAM, assistant controller for Mitchell engineering, and senior project accounting manager for Bovis Lend Lease. Before joining BRAC, he worked as controller for Allied Container System.

He was ranked 165 in the world per ITF (International Tennis Federation) 1986 Junior Tennis Ranking. He brought trophies for Bangladesh from Brunei Darussalam and Sri Lanka while representing Bangladesh internationally. He was offered a full tennis scholarship to attend Boise State University and he competed in division-I tennis with various universities in the United States of America representing his university.

 

 

 

W.M.H Jaim
Director,
Research and Evaluation Division

Dr Jaim joined BRAC in July 2011 as the director of Research and Evaluation Division.

He is an agricultural economist who was working as a professor in the Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh prior to joining BRAC. He was the dean, Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the Bangladesh Agriculture University from 2000 to 2002. He worked as executive editor of the Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Economics from 1999 to 2001. He was also head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the Bangladesh Agricultural University from 1994 to 1996.

Dr Jaim has a vast experience as a researcher and consultant for several international organisations. He was also a visiting fellow of Kyoto University and Hokkaido University, Japan and University of Sussex, UK. Dr Jaim is the author of numerous articles published in national and international journals.

He obtained his PhD in Agricultural Economics in 1983 from the University of London. He was a post-doctoral Fellow of ODA, UK during 1991-93.