Archives: Team

Shanthi Flynn has nearly 35 years of HR and business leadership, most recently as CHRO on the Executive Board of the Adecco Group (Fortune 500). Previously she was on the Regional Executive as SVP HR, Walmart Asia based out of Hong Kong, responsible for 150,000
employees across China, Japan and India. Her time as Group HR Director, A S Watsons Group gave her hands-on experience of acquisitions and organic growth across Europe and Asia. Her early leadership came from 10 years with Ford Motor Company and as International HR Director, FMCG Healthcare and Retail for the Boots Company plc.

She is the Founder of Shanthi Flynn Advisory, providing services from Keynote Speaker, Board and Executive Facilitation to People and Organisation Strategy diagnostics. Shanthi is a founding member of the Zurich International School (ZIS) Professional Women’s Network. She has previously been a member of the WEF Global Council for Economic growth and Social Inclusion and a speaker at the Inclusion Summit at the Paralympics in Rio. She was Chair of the AmCham HR Committee (HK), Speaker and Panellist at multiple conferences on
topics ranging from The Future of Work, Multi-Channel Organisations to Leading High Performance Teams. Invited to be a founding member of the ETH (Zurich University) Global Ambassador circle.

Shanthi was born in the UK to Sri Lankan parents and is the mother of 3 girls. She met her husband at Manchester University having read Physiology and Pharmacology. She lived in Hong Kong for 14 years, Zurich for 5 years and is now UK based.

With over 2 decades of experience as a senior fundraising professional, advocate and campaigner, currently Deepali is working at UNICEF’s flagship initiative Generation Unlimited as Chief of Partnerships. She came to this role from having led UNICEF’s global business channel ‘faith based giving and membership organizations’ especially Islamic philanthropy in Geneva. Previously at UNICEF’s Gulf Area Office she led private sector fundraising and partnerships across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Acquiring new donors, developing new business and bringing seed donors for UNICEF’s flagship innovative initiatives such as the Global Muslim Philanthropy Fund for Children and Generation Unlimited. She also set up the first Leadership Circle in the UAE, a gathering of UNICEF donors and supporters ranging from UHNWIs, CEOs to society leaders and influencers.

Deepali joined UNICEF in January 2018 from Habitat for Humanity, where she was the Director of Resource Development for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, driving 9-fold income in just 3 years.

As Plan International’s Global Director for the Because I am a Girl campaign and as Head of Plan EU Liaison office in Brussels she combined  fundraising skills with campaigning and advocacy. She also worked at UNHCR, Education Above All and Friedrich-Naumann Foundation. Deepali speaks German, French and English along with her mother tongue Hindi.

Jack is currently the Director of Campaigns & Engagement at WWF-UK, where he leads on engaging the public to help tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and the need for change in our food system. Prior to a stint Head of Campaigns at the Greater London Authority, Jack was fortunate enough to lead at Save the Children (UK and Int’l) and Oxfam GB as Director of Communications, as well as enjoying a range of roles in broadcast at the BBC: from Blue Peter to BBC Sport and the 2012 Olympics.

Jack is also a trustee at the International Broadcasting Trust, supporting NGOs to work more effectively with the media.

Anne-Marie Harris is a chartered accountant and worked in corporate finance for 10 years before joining impact investing firm Bridges Fund Management in 2006 as a partner in the UK Sustainable Growth Funds, leading a number of successful investments and exits during her ten year tenure.

Until recently she was the COO/CFO of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment which brings together leaders from the worlds of finance, business, philanthropy and government to galvanise the Impact Economy for the benefit of people and the planet.

Anne-Marie joined British International Investment’s Investment Committee in 2019 and focuses on transactions in the Catalyst Portfolio.

Shameran is the Executive Director of BRAC International. He 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, BRAC International’s microfinance portfolio has seen impressive growth and a renewed focus on client impact. 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 has significant Board experience on several non-profit and corporate entities, chairing the board of bKash, BRAC Bank’s mobile financial services subsidiary and one of the world’s largest mobile money providers, and serving on the boards of several institutions including BRAC Bank, BRAC Uganda Bank, and the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV).

Shameran is also chairman of the Microfinance Network and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Partnership for Economic Inclusion at the World Bank. Shameran holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Hamilton College in the United States and is a qualified Barrister in the UK.

Ken Caldwell was appointed as Chair of BRAC UK in May 2021, and joined the BRAC Global Board in June 2021.

After an early career in the private sector, Ken spent more than 30 years working in leadership roles in the INGO sector, including as Global Programmes Director at Save the Children, and as Executive Director of WaterAid International. He also developed a specialist research and consultancy business working with the global boards of international NGOs on issues of strategy, leadership, and governance.

He has wide experience as a non-executive director and  trustee for national and international NGOs.  He is currently Chair of the Programme Committee at Oxfam GB, and a board member of Farm Africa. His prior roles include serving as Chair of the Campaigns Committee at the Children’s Society, as a board member of the Institute of Development Studies, and as the founding Chair of BOND.

I have been with BRAC UK since summer 2021. Within the Partnerships team, my role is to support new business development through prospect research, donor qualification and engagement. I have also recently begun developing our legacy giving programme as part of my work supporting BRAC UK to diversify its income.

With a background in Environmental Science, I went on to complete a Masters in Environment & Development to better understand the complex interactions between global inequality, environmental degradation and climate change. I am particularly interested in Southern-led development and climate adaptive & resilient livelihoods, which is what drew me to BRAC.

I have over 3 years of experience in the charity sector, where I have specialised in donor stewardship, fundraising and campaigns. Before joining BRAC, I worked for Kew Foundation at RBG, Kew where I supported fundraisers to deliver quality, bespoke stewardship to individual donors.

I am proud to be part of the BRAC family and to be supporting the organisation’s incredible work to build a world free from discrimination and exploitation.

I joined BRAC in January 2022 after several years of experience at various humanitarian and development organizations. At BRAC UK, I am the Programmes and Partnerships Officer for Africa, where my primary focus is on donor relations, grant management and new business development. I work closely with the country teams implementing projects to ensure our donor obligations are being met. I feel proud to be part of such an innovative and global organisation.

Prior to BRAC, I worked at Street Child and the British Red Cross, where I also supported programmes in grant and information management at HQ-level across Africa and Asia. Additionally, I completed a traineeship at DG ECHO, the European Commission’s humanitarian aid agency supporting the Yemen, Iraq, and Palestine portfolios. Before my career in aid, I spent time living abroad teaching in Asia as well as holding positions in the financial sector. I have an undergraduate degree in economics and political science and a master’s degree in international humanitarian action.

“I work with teams in Bangladesh and Nepal to manage all aspects of BRAC UK’s portfolio in the Asia region. I am also responsible for systems development and all related donor reporting and contractual compliance.

Prior to joining BRAC, I managed a range of youth, gender equality & education programmes for a Commonwealth accredited civil society organisation; supporting high-level advocacy efforts with diplomatic missions, government departments and Royal households. Previously, I spent a year working for an NGO in Northern Ghana, coordinating a wide range of rights-based programmes and building strong partnerships with community-based organisations and NGOs. I hold an MA in English Language & Linguistics from the University of Glasgow and recently completed a PGC in International Development at the University of London, Birkbeck College.”