Asif Saleh is the executive director of BRAC Bangladesh. He brings with him a diverse multi-sectoral experience in senior leadership roles in private, public and non-government sectors, with a proven track record of effectively managing interfaces of development programming, operational and financial sustainability and building effective partnerships, both within and outside BRAC.
Prior to joining BRAC, Mr. Saleh worked as a policy specialist for the Access to Information (A2i) Programme at the Prime Minister’s Office in Bangladesh. As part of the Government’s Digital Bangladesh initiative, he led the policy effort to expand affordable broadband connectivity across Bangladesh and devised the Government’s m-governance strategy. He spent 12 years in Goldman Sachs in different fin-tech roles in New York and London ending his term there as an Executive Director. He has also worked in Glaxo Wellcome, IBM and Nortel.
Mr. Saleh is a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C. He is also an active member in a range of international networks and alliances advocating inclusive achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. He is a member of the Millions Learning International Advisory Group, Brookings Institute, a member of the advisory group of South Africa-based Innovation Edge, an institution promoting early childhood development. He is a member of the global board for Generation Unlimited, a global body of UNICEF promoting youth skills and also a member of the global governing council of Water Resource Group 2030.
Mr. Saleh chairs BRAC IT Services Limited, co-chairs BRAC Net, and is on the Board of BRAC Bank, bKash, and edotco Bangladesh Ltd. He also chairs the Institute of Informatics and Development.
He was recognised for his work by Asia Society’s Asia 21 programme in 2008, the Bangladeshi American Foundation in 2007, and was selected as an Asia 21 Fellow in 2012. He was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2013.
Mr. Saleh holds a Bachelor’s degree in computer science and an MBA in management and marketing from the Stern School of Business, New York University.