Secretary-General Appoints Usha Rao-Monari of India Associate Administrator, United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Usha Rao-Monari of India as Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Mourad Wahba of Egypt for his commitment as Associate Administrator ad interim and 30 years of service in the United Nations.  He also wishes to extend his appreciation to Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia for his long-standing career at the United Nations and for his significant contributions to the development agenda as UNDP’s Associate Administrator.

As Senior Adviser to Blackstone’s Infrastructure Group, Ms. Rao-Monari is an investment professional with almost 30 years of investment experience, particularly in the infrastructure area.  She previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Global Water Development Partners, a Blackstone portfolio company, and held several senior positions, notably as Director of the Sustainable Business Advisory Group at the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group.  She currently serves on the boards of a number of organizations in the field of sustainable development and has held a number of Board and advisory positions in the areas of water, natural capital, biodiversity and environment.

She holds a master’s degree in international affairs and finance, School of International and Public Affairs/School of Business, Columbia University, New York; a master’s degree in management studies, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai, India; and a Bachelor of Arts Honours in economics, Delhi University, New Delhi.