Dr Lawrence Haddad has been serving as the Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) since 2016. In this role, he played a pivotal part in the Initiative on Climate and Nutrition at COP27 in 2022 and chaired Action Track 1 of the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit, focusing on ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all. He also co-founded the Standing Together for Nutrition consortium, which was formed in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the ongoing food crisis.

Prior to joining GAIN, Dr Haddad was the founding co-chair and lead author of the ‘Global Nutrition Report’ from 2014 to 2016. His earlier career includes a decade-long tenure as Director of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) from 2004 to 2014. Before IDS, he was Director of the Food Consumption and Nutrition Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) from 1994 to 2004. Dr Haddad also contributed as the UK representative on the Steering Committee of the High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CSF) from 2009 to 2010 and served as the President of the UK and Ireland’s Development Studies Association from 2010 to 2012.

An economist by training, he completed his PhD in Food Research at Stanford University in 1988.