News

CGAP Welcomes New Members to its Executive Committee

Washington D.C., October 17, 2023 – CGAP has welcomed two new members to its Executive Committee, which functions as CGAP’s advisory board.

The new Executive Committee members are Anouk Aarts, Policy Advisor in the Sustainable Economic Development Department at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Daniel Hailu, Executive Director of Pan-African Programs at Mastercard Foundation. Aarts joins as the new representative of the Bilaterals II Constituency and Hailu joins as the new representative of the Foundations Constituency. They were elected by their respective Constituencies.

All Executive Committee members join either as at-large members who are selected for their technical expertise and leadership in CGAP’s strategic priorities, or are elected by the members of one of CGAP’s constituency groups (Foundations, Multilateral Development Banks, Development Finance Institutions, and Bilateral Agencies) to represent them on the Executive Committee.  

The Executive Committee members whose terms continue are:

  • Paula Arregui, Senior VP and COO at Mercado Pago (at-large member)
  • Buhle Goslar, formerly CEO for Africa Region and Pakistan at JUMO (at-large member)
  • Shinjini Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of SALT (at-large member)
  • Jean Pesme, Global Director for Finance, Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice at World Bank 
  • Christine Poursat, Head of Financial Systems at Agence Française de Développement (represents the DFIs Constituency)
  • Ola Sahlén, Senior Program Manager of the Unit for Globally Sustainable Economic Development at Swedish International Development Agency (represents the Bilaterals I Constituency)
  • Sophie Sirtaine, CGAP CEO (Ex officio member)

The 10-member Executive Committee is chaired by Henri Dommel, Director of the Financial Inclusion Practice Area at United Nations Capital development Fund (UNCDF), who also represents the Multilaterals Constituency. The Committee plays a crucial role in providing strategic guidance to CGAP’s operational team in implementing CGAP VII, the latest five-year strategy. CGAP VII, which took effect on July 2023, envisions responsible and inclusive financial ecosystems that enable a green, resilient, and equitable world.

“On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank outgoing members Nathalie Gabala from the Mastercard Foundation and Sandra Louiszoon from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their contributions to CGAP’s Executive Committee,” said Dommel.

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