Sir Fazle Hasan Abed retires as BRAC chairperson

Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of BRAC, has retired as chairperson of the organisation. He, however, will have a titular role as chairperson emeritus there.

The transition is part of Sir Fazle’s long standing practice of building strong succession at BRAC - world’s largest non-government development organisation, says a press statement received on Wednesday.

Sir FH Abed founded BRAC in 1972, and served as its Executive Director until 2001. At the age of 65, he retired from the Executive Director position of BRAC and was elected as the Chairperson of the BRAC Bangladesh Governing Body. Later, he was also elected as the Chairperson of the BRAC International Board.

He is stepping down from his governance responsibilities and in the coming months, as Chair Emeritus, he will focus on guiding BRAC’s global strategy and governance structure, added the statement.

“For the past few years, I have put a lot of thought and preparation into planning my succession at BRAC. Now, at the age of 83, I feel it is the right time for me to step down from my role as Chairperson and focus my time on guiding the future strategy of BRAC,” Sir Fazle said.

“BRAC has never been about me or any one person. I may have been the founder,however, our strong foundation and reputation are built on the commitment, hard work and dedication of our staff. We are grateful and fortunate to partner with Governments, mission-aligned donors, partners and peer organisations along the way,” he added.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, who served as an advisor in the military-controlled caretaker government for 11 months in 2008, was named as new chair of BRAC Bangladesh Board.

Ameerah Haq, a former UN under-secretary-general for the Department of Field Support from 2012 to 2014, has been elected as chairperson of BRAC International Board.

Only last week, the BRAC Bangladesh governing board announced Asif Saleh as the new chief executive. The former Goldman Sachs executive has already taken over as Executive Director.

Dr Muhammad Musa, appointed executive director of BRAC International in May, will be in charge of all executive management and operational functions for the organisation, the statement noted.

Founded in 1972, BRAC has grown to be one of the most effective non-government organisations in the world, touching the lives of over 110 million people worldwide. It now operates in 11 countries in Asia and Africa and have affiliate offices in the USA and UK.