Biography: IOM Deputy Director General for Management and Reform

SungAh Lee

Ms. Lee has over two decades of experience in management and organizational reform overseeing a broad spectrum of areas, including financial management, human resources, communications, strategic partnerships, performance monitoring and evaluation, legal affairs, IT and oversight.

Prior to joining IOM, Ms. Lee was the Deputy Director General and a member of the Executive Board of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) where she oversaw a wide range of management and core operational services. Ms. Lee has been instrumental in driving operational transformations across IUCN country, regional offices and HQ focusing on process enhancement, efficiency improvements, and fostering cultural shifts.

Throughout her career, she has been deeply passionate about and committed to building sustainable and inclusive economies and societies that create opportunities for all, and her experience spans multiple thematic areas, including inclusive and sustainable economic development and poverty reduction, skills and jobs, climate and biodiversity, financial and digital inclusion, and gender and health equity. 

Among other roles, Ms. Lee previously worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. She also served as a Board member at the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s (UNCDF) Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations (SHIFT) programme, the Better than Cash Alliance (BTCA); a public-private partnership hosted by the UN, and at Digital Frontiers, a global capacity building institution for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ms. Lee is a recipient of the Presidential Award from the Republic of Korea for her outstanding contributions to the Korean Presidency of the G20 (2011).

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