World-Renowned Development Leader Julian Lob-Levyt Joins DAI

BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- DAI today announced that Julian Lob-Levyt, currently the Chief Executive Officer of the GAVI Alliance, will be joining the DAI leadership team. Effective November of this year, Dr. Lob-Levyt will take over as Managing Director of DAI Europe and Senior Vice President of DAI, based in London.

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"Julian Lob-Levyt is a visionary leader, a gifted manager, and a proven force for innovation in development," said DAI President and CEO James Boomgard. "His addition to the DAI team represents an infusion of fresh strategic insight, technical knowledge, and professional contacts that will measurably accelerate our drive to become a truly global development organization. We are delighted to welcome him on board."

Dr. Lob-Levyt currently heads the Geneva, Switzerland-based GAVI Alliance, a public-private global health partnership created in 2000 to increase access to immunization for children in the world's poorest countries. Since 2000, more than 256 million children have been vaccinated and 5.4 million premature deaths averted thanks to GAVI-funded programs.

Before joining GAVI in 2005, Dr. Lob-Levyt served as Senior Policy Adviser to the UNAIDS Executive Director, and prior to that he served for five years with the U.K. Department for International Development, as Chief Human Development Adviser (covering health, education, and social protection) and as Chief Health and Population Adviser. Previous assignments include senior positions with the World Health Organization and the European Commission. Dr. Lob-Levyt has held long-term overseas postings in Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and the Solomon Islands.

"DAI is a world-class organization with a rock-solid commitment to the mission of international development," Dr. Lob-Levyt said. "In joining the firm, I look forward to bringing the full range of my experience to bear—both on the human development issues DAI is tackling around the world, and on the strategic expansion DAI is undertaking to better serve its global clients."

As Managing Director of DAI Europe, reporting directly to Dr. Boomgard, Dr. Lob-Levyt will be an integral part of the DAI leadership team and a prominent ambassador for the firm. In addition to managing the London office and overseeing the expansion of DAI's portfolio with European clients, he will play a leading role in the formulation and execution of DAI's global strategy.  

"We wish Julian every success in his new role and thank him for his great contribution as CEO of the GAVI Alliance," said Mary Robinson, GAVI Alliance Board Chair and former President of Ireland. "Over nearly six years, Julian has overseen steady growth in the GAVI Secretariat, the change in our governance structure, a significant increase in funding despite a difficult economic climate, and most importantly, improved health for millions of children in the developing world who have benefited from vaccines funded by GAVI."

About DAI

DAI is an independent, employee-owned, mission-driven development firm. Since 1970, DAI has worked in 150 developing and transition countries, providing comprehensive development solutions in areas including HIV/AIDS and avian influenza control, crisis mitigation and stability operations, agriculture and agribusiness, democratic governance and public sector management, private sector development and financial services, economics and trade, water and natural resources management, and energy and climate change.

SOURCE DAI