Usha Rao-Monari | |
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Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | |
In office 17 February 2021 – July 2023 | |
Appointed by | António Guterres |
Preceded by | Mourad Wahba |
Succeeded by | Haoliang Xu |
Personal details | |
Born | Hyderabad, India | 27 July 1959
Alma mater | Lady Shri Ram College for Women Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies |
Profession | Investment Development policy Water resources |
Usha Rao-Monari (born 27 July 1959) is an Indian investment, development policy, and water resources specialist.[1][2] She served as Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) from April 2021 to July 2023.[3]
Rao-Monari graduated with a bachelor's degree in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), University of Delhi, and earned a Masters in International Finance from The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA).[4]
Rao-Monari was born on 27 July 1959 in Hyderabad, India. Her father worked for the World Health Organization, and Rao-Monari graduated from the International School Manila in 1976.
She graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), University of Delhi, with a bachelors in Economics, before pursuing a Masters in Management Studies at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. Rao-Monari was also awarded a Masters's degree in International Finance from The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA).[4]
Upon graduation from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Rao-Monari worked for A.F. Ferguson & Co. as a management consultant. In 1985, Rao Monari moved to Prudential-Bache Securities to establish an investment banking division in New York and London, advising on cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
In 1991, Rao Monari was appointed to the World Bank Young Professionals programme at the World Bank Group, before joining the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group. Developing an expertise in water management, Rao-Monari grew the IFC's utilities (water, waste, downstream/midstream gas, renewable energy, hydroelectric power) investment program to cover multiple sectors and significantly increased its natural gas program.
As Global Head, Water and Waste Sectors, Infrastructure Department, Rao-Monari founded the 2030 Water Resources Group (WRG) in 2008, as a public-private-civil society collaboration to facilitate dialogue, convening and solutions on water resources reform in water-stressed emerging market economies. The IFC appointed her Director, Sustainable Business Investment Advisory Practice, in 2012, after which Rao-Monari joined Global Water Development Partners[5] (a Blackstone portfolio company) in 2014. In May 2022, she was appointed to the Global Commission on the Economics of Water which aims to study the value of the world's water, and work out ways of ensuring supply.
On 17 February 2021, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced[6][7][8][9] the appointment of Usha Rao-Monari to the role of Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).[10][11]
Rao-Monari has held a number of positions in public and private organizations, including:
Rao-Monari has written and contributed to many articles and chapters which are part of notable publications, including:
Usha Rao-Monari is married with two children and lives in the United States.[citation needed]