Vinita Bali, a global business leader, who has been on the Board of GAIN since 2010, has been appointed Chair of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition’s (GAIN) Board of Directors. Vinita has led large companies in a variety of marketing and general management roles in the UK, Nigeria, South Africa, Chile and the USA, in addition to India. She also serves on the Advisory Board of The Division of Nutritional Science at University of Cornell and is the Vice Chair of CARE India. She is among the 27 global leaders appointed by the UN Secretary General to stand on the Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition movement.
Vinita takes over as Chair of the GAIN Board from Jay Naidoo, who has led GAIN in the global fight against malnutrition since its creation in 2002. Jay was a prominent figure in Nelson Mandela’s post-apartheid Government and is a lifelong campaigner for social justice. During Jay’s tenure GAIN has increased the reach of its programs to 892 million people a year, including 350 million women and children. Jay will continue to work with GAIN as Chair of its Partnership Council.
Jay serves in an advisory capacity for a number of organizations including the UN Broadband Commission of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UNSG Lead Committee on Nutrition. He also serves on the Board of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which focusses on building Good Governance and Leadership in Africa.
In other changes to the GAIN Board of Directors:
• Pierre Henchoz, Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee (FAC) will end his term as chair of the FAC on 1 November 2015.
• Michèle Costafrolaz, Founder and Managing Partner of MCT Audit & Advisory SA, Geneva, Switzerland will serve a first term
(November 2015-November 2018) as FAC Chair. Michèle has over 30 years’ experience in public accounting.
• Omar Dary, Senior Nutrition Advisor at USAID, and Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at African Unionhave been elected for a first term (June 2015-June 2018).
• Joachim von Braun, Director, Centre for Development Research, University of Bonn, Germany, will serve a second term (June 2015-June 2018) as Board Vice Chair and ex-officio Partnership Council member.
• Stanley Zlotkin, Chief, Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Canada, will serve a second term (June 2015-June 2018).