Chairman of the Boards of Directors · Kofi Annan Foundation
Mr. As Sy is a Senegalese humanitarian leader with over 30 years of experience in global health, humanitarian relief, and international development. He joined Wellcome’s Board in January 2020. Mr. Sy is currently Chair of the Boards of the Kofi Annan Foundation, Institut Pasteur de Dakar and the African Child Policy Forum. In 2024, he was appointed the first-ever Chancellor of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), reflecting his leadership in global health academia.
Mr. Sy served as Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) from 2014 to 2019, directing humanitarian operations for the world’s largest humanitarian network. In that role, he led responses to crises and advocated for vulnerable communities worldwide. Prior to the IFRC, Mr. Sy held senior roles at UNICEF – he was UNICEF’s Director of Partnerships and Resource Development in New York, and earlier UNICEF’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.
He has coordinated global emergency responses (e.g., as the UNICEF Global Emergency Coordinator for the Horn of Africa) and worked with other international agencies like UNDP, UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Through these roles he developed deep expertise in mobilising international cooperation for health emergencies and development programs.
In addition to his current chairmanships, Mr. As Sy serves on numerous boards and is a member of the Governing Board of Interpeace (a peacebuilding organisation) and the LEGO Foundation.