Pratham Names New CEO

Pratham co-founder Dr. Madhav Chavan announced his retirement after twenty years as CEO. Following a thorough evaluation of the organization’s needs, the board of Pratham Education Foundation appointed Dr. Rukmini Banerji to succeed Dr. Chavan as CEO, effective July 1, 2015.

Dr. Banerji is a well-regarded member of Pratham’s leadership team and director of our ASER Centre. Having been with the organization almost since its inception, Dr. Banerji brings to the position a thorough understanding of the importance of children’s learning as well as a strong capacity for research, innovation and leadership.

A former Rhodes Scholar, Rukmini completed her PhD at the University of Chicago in 1991 and holds a BA in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. She is currently a member of the Central Advisory Board of Education Committee of the Ministry of Human Resource Development for the Government of India and has served as co-chair of the Global Learning Metrics Task Force convened by the Brookings Institution and UNESCO.

We are pleased to add that Dr. Chavan will continue to play an important role in Pratham’s future as a member of the board, driving program innovation.

The board welcomes Dr. Banerji as the next CEO and expresses confidence in her ability to build Pratham into an even stronger institution dedicated to improving the quality of education for every child.