Message from the Open Society Foundations

Just over three months ago, our Board of Directors unanimously approved ambitious changes in how the Open Society Foundations operate. These changes are designed to make us more effective in responding to the urgent challenges facing our work around the world.

The new approach, shaped by what the Board called a culture of opportunity, will do away with divisions between our global and regional programming. It will bring to bear all our strengths—global and local—on specific, well-defined objectives. Our goals will determine our team structures, rather than our structures determining our goals. 

We now have a strong leadership team in place, led by our new vice presidents for Programs, Pedro Abramovay and Binaifer Nowrojee, who join president Mark Malloch-Brown and vice president and chief operating officer Sandra Breka to form Open Society’s new Executive Leadership Team. We have appointed new managing directors for Programs, Issandr Amrani and Brian Kagoro, and a managing director for Core Partnerships, Dierdre Williams. 

This week, we reached another milestone, and have shared with our employees and their staff representatives an overview of the programmatic work that will transition into the new opportunity model, together with the anticipated staffing needs. 

The range of the areas of work we have identified is forceful proof that Open Society will continue to work in all the regions where we already operate, and uphold its commitments to justice, equity, and human rights. We will have a continued global emphasis and commitment to local knowledge and expertise. 

What is changing is the methods we deploy to meet our ambitions. To that end we are aiming to be a more flexible, streamlined, and effective partner to all those with whom we work. 

Throughout this process, Open Society is committed to fulfilling its local requirements and obligations to its employees, their representatives, and all stakeholders.