Jim Emerson appointed as The Power of Nutrition’s new Interim Chief Executive Officer

PRESS RELEASE

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LONDON, 16 May 2023. The Power of Nutrition, a charitable foundation that raises funds and convenes partners to tackle global malnutrition, today announces the appointment of Jim Emerson as its new Interim Chief Executive Officer. Jim will replace Simon Bishop who is stepping down next month to lead the BBC’s international charity, BBC Media Action.

Jim Emerson is a strategic leader and senior executive with over 40 years working in international development. He has been CEO at some of the most significant organisations in the sector, including VSO, Plan International and INTRAC. He also brings strong senior leadership experience from Save the Children, BRAC and, most recently, SOS Children’s Villages where he was an Executive Advisor to the CEO.

Jim joins at an important time for The Power of Nutrition, as millions of people across the world are experiencing a hunger and malnutrition crisis due to the impact of climate change, conflict and the global cost of living crisis. Now is a critical period to maximise The Power of Nutrition’s unique model of convening private and public-sector partnerships to run large-scale sustainable nutrition programmes that reach the most mothers and children possible.

Commenting on the appointment, Mark Cutifani, Chair of The Power of Nutrition’s Board of Trustees, said:

We are delighted to welcome Jim after an extensive search process to find the right candidate. He has big boots to fill following Simon’s departure, but we are confident that his experience and fresh ideas will provide the focus to help The Power of Nutrition realise its potential. With global progress made in tackling malnutrition sadly being reversed, our work is now more important than ever and the Board looks forward to Jim helping The Power of Nutrition to reach millions more mothers and children with vital nutritional support.

On his new role, Jim Emerson added:

The Power of Nutrition was set up with an important mandate – to convene partnerships to mobilise funds for the global nutrition sector. Since its inception, global events have only increased its need and importance, and now more than ever, we need to be working collaboratively across sectors to jointly tackle malnutrition.

I join The Power of Nutrition at a critical time when both malnutrition rates are rising and donor budgets are being squeezed - I look forward to working with its talented team to take on these challenges and to continue to deliver innovative nutrition programmes that impact millions of lives.

Simon Bishop will work until June 16 with Jim Emerson starting on June 1 to ensure a smooth transition period.

ENDS

About The Power of Nutrition

The Power of Nutrition is a charitable foundation that unites businesses, governments, investors and non-profits in a joint mission to end the cycle of malnutrition. Our innovative finance and partnership model maximises nutrition investments to make resources go further.

We currently have 21 programmes in 16 countries with high rates of malnutrition across Africa and Asia. Each is aligned with national government plans, carefully designed to deliver impact at scale, and is based around a core set of evidence-based, high-impact interventions known to improve child, adolescent, and maternal nutrition.

To date, our programmes have enabled over 133 million women, children and adolescents to access essential nutrition interventions and services that are truly changing lives. Visit https://www.powerofnutrition.org/ for more information on our work and on how to partner with us.