Nardos Bekele-Thomas

CEO of the African Union Development Agency/NEPAD, she is the first woman to hold the position. She was previously Resident Coordinator for the United Nations (UN) in South Africa and the Senior Director of the Office of the Secretary-General. She also served as the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Republic of Kenya and the Republic of Benin. Her interest includes promotion of human development; anchored on the principles of economic, social and political rights for all. She has excelled as a Private Sector Policy Adviser focusing on the promotion of trade and investment in African countries through private/public sector partnerships in the United States. She holds a Master’s Degree in Economic Development, Monetary Economics and Econometrics from New York University (NYU). She is the author of several papers and monographs, and she is fully bilingual in French and English.