Mark Malloch Brown

Global Influencer of Change; Former Deputy Secretary-General, UN; Recent UK Foreign Minister

BIG IDEAS

• Navigating The Complex World of Political Risk
  The complexity of financial regulatory, trade, currency, and tax regimes make the post-recessionary world a murky place to do business, as governments assert their powers, and not often in a coordinated fashion. Lord Malloch-Brown’s perspectives will help private and public institutions weigh and manage these risks on this ever-changing landscape.
• Rise of the State in Economic Development
  Gone are the days when most nation-states went hat in hand to seek foreign direct investment. Nowadays, businesses must work more collaboratively with governments, which are taking a very active role in shaping the economic destiny of their countries. This implies new compacts, new forms of organization, and more explicit agreement about the role of savvy private institutions in furthering the agendas of national sovereignty and self-determination.
• Emerging Markets Beyond the BRIC States
  Focusing on the four big growing economies—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—is important. But neglect other emerging economies at your peril. Lord Malloch-Brown takes you on a tour of the rest, countries like Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Ghana—to highlight where opportunities lie.

SNAPSHOT BIO

Mark Malloch Brown has had an enduring and distinguished career effecting change globally in both the private sector and the international political arena. He has successfully held the roles of journalist, business executive, development specialist, diplomat, philanthropist and political leader at the highest levels.  He is well-known as an outspoken participant in debates on foreign policy, development, refugees, democracy and the reform of global governance. Drawing on his extensive career, Mark is currently working on two books focusing on Global Governance and Economic Development.

Until October of 2009, Mark was the Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British government with responsibility for Africa, Asia and the United Nations. During his tenure, he was the lead delegate on behalf of Prime Minister Gordon Brown responsible for maintaining and strengthening relationships with developing countries and managing global issues. He covered all foreign policy matters relating to those countries in the House of Lords. In his position, Mark sought to address longstanding United Kingdom foreign policy challenges in countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe as well as developed new United Kingdom relationships in Asia.

Following his appointment, Malloch Brown was created a life peer on July 9, 2007 as Baron Malloch-Brown, of St Leonard's Forest in the County of West Sussex and took his seat in the House of Lords that same day.

Prior to his appointment to the UK cabinet, he was Vice-Chairman of The Soros Fund Management and The Open Society Institute. His work their involved developing a portfolio of investment opportunities for both for-profit and social investment.

From 1999 – 2006 Mark held several high level positions at the United Nations where he was extremely active in his service and cut a high profile. Before departing in 2006, he held the position of Deputy Secretary-General under Kofi Annan. In this role, he acted as the organization’s chief operating officer handling management reform and crisis communications matters as well as a range of policy functions. In addition, he was responsible to Security-General Annan for the overall global operations and leadership of the United Nations system. Before his position as Deputy-Secretary-General, Mark was the Administrator of the United Nations Development Program, the top development position in the United Nations. During his tenure at the UNDP, he oversaw a comprehensive reform effort that was widely recognized as making the UNDP more focused, efficient and effective across the 166 countries where it works and doubled its annual resources to over $4 billion. His efforts included a major push to expand UN support to developing countries in areas such as democratic governance, a new advocacy dimension as reflected in pioneering publications, including the Arab Human Development Reports, and strengthened UNDP operational leadership in natural disasters and post-conflict situations.

Prior to his appointment with the UNDP, Mark served at the World Bank as Vice-President for External Affairs. He is credited with having helped the Bank enhance its outreach and expand its partnership with the United Nations and non-governmental organizations. In 1997, he chaired the United Nations Secretary-General's task force on the reform of United Nations communications.

Before joining the World Bank, Mark was the lead international partner in the strategic communications management firm, the Sawyer-Miller Group, where he worked with corporations and governments. He advised Corazon Aquino of the Philippines when she ran against Ferdinand Marcos, as well as other presidential and political candidates, particularly in Latin America.

He founded The Economist Development Report, a monthly report on the aid community and the political economy for development. He served as the Report's editor from 1983 to 1986. Previously, from 1977 to 1979, he had been the political correspondent of The Economist.

Included in Time Magazine’s world’s 100 most influential people in 2005, Mark’s early vocation was a pre-cursor to the work he has championed throughout his career. Working with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), he was stationed in Thailand, where he was in charge of field operations for Cambodian refugees. He was appointed Deputy Chief of UNHCR's Emergency Unit in Geneva, undertaking extensive missions in the Horn of Africa and Central America. In 1981, the UNHCR and its staff were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Active in human rights and refugee issues, he formerly served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Refugees International in Washington, D.C., and has served on the advisory boards of a number of non-profit organizations.

Mark received a First Class Honour’s Degree in History from Magdalene College, Cambridge University, and a Master's Degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan, and is the recipient of a number of honorary degrees and awards. He is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization.