Seven Things to Know About Mark Malloch-Brown, OSF’s New President
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STEFANIE LOOS, REDUX FOR THE OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS
Change is afoot at the Open Society Foundations. It seems like only yesterday that Patrick Gaspard stepped up to lead George Soros’s global network. But now, Gaspard has announced his impending departure as rumors circulate that he’ll be tapped as President-elect Joe Biden’s secretary of labor. At the time of writing, Gaspard’s new gig has yet to be confirmed. But we do know who will succeed him at OSF.
The incoming president is Mark Malloch-Brown, who will take up the reins effective January 1. Most recently serving as a member of OSF’s global advisory board, Malloch-Brown is a native of the United Kingdom and a veteran of the United Nations and the British government, among a host of other leadership positions he’s held in the nonprofit world and the private sector.
Malloch-Brown has enjoyed a long working relationship with Soros. “I have known and worked closely with Mark for more than three decades, from supporting opposition to the Pinochet regime in Chile, to bringing relief to the people of Sarajevo and Bosnia, to setting up the International Crisis group together,” Soros said in a press release. “Mark is deeply familiar with Open Society’s work and shares my vision of a political philanthropy that is focused and prepared for the future.”
As Gaspard takes his leave and Malloch-Brown steps up, here are seven things to know about OSF’s new president.
1. He’s a lord
It isn’t often that a member of the British peerage comes to lead a top American grantmaking organization—or any U.S.-based foundation, for that matter. But OSF’s storied global commitments make it something of a different beast. In this case, the title is fitting: Malloch-Brown was elevated to the vaunted status of a lord for his service in foreign affairs, most prominently as deputy secretary-general of the United Nations at the very back end of Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s tenure, serving for less than a year during 2006.
Born in 1953, Malloch-Brown attended school in both his home country and the United States. Between 2007 and 2009, he served in the U.K. government as a minister in the foreign office under Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
2. He began as a journalist and communications consultant
Malloch-Brown started his career as a journalist for The Economist, which eventually led to a stint at Sawyer-Miller, the communications firm. It was in that capacity, as well as in an earlier position with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, that Malloch-Brown established himself at the intersection of international development and public relations, a skill set he’d use later at the World Bank, the U.N. and in his governmental and private sector roles. It’s also a background he’ll bring to OSF as the foundation faces continued pressure from authoritarian governments and right-wing media.
3. International organizations are his bread and butter
Malloch-Brown has spent much of his career as a leading staffer for international institutions, most prominently the U.N. itself. Prior to the U.N., he served as a vice president at the World Bank, where he worked to improve its image. Malloch-Brown’s leadership roles at the U.N. commenced with a stint as the head of the United Nations Development Programme, where he oversaw the creation of the Millennium Development Goals. Malloch-Brown’s career at the U.N. culminated with the short time he spent as the U.N. second-in-command in 2006. In that role, he found himself defending the U.N.’s controversial Oil-for-Food Programme. First spearheaded by the Clinton administration, that initiative began as a way to extend aid to Iraqis and later faced multiple charges of corruption.
4. He’s tussled with John Bolton
When Malloch-Brown was U.N. deputy secretary-general, things grew heated between him and John Bolton, then the Bush administration’s ambassador to the U.N. Malloch-Brown’s charge was essentially that the U.S. had allowed anti-U.N. sentiment to run rampant. Bolton took umbrage, equating the U.N. official’s remarks to an attack on America itself. This was just one of many occasions when Malloch-Brown’s dedication to international organizations has put him at odds with American conservatives. That personal history resonates today as Malloch-Brown assumes a role where he’ll once again be bombarded with charges of anti-American sentiment, this time by the America First crowd.
5. He has a long history with George Soros
In his quote above, Soros referenced a long working relationship with Malloch-Brown. One of its earliest manifestations was when Malloch-Brown served on the Soros Advisory Committee on Bosnia in the early 1990s. The two kept in touch during Malloch-Brown’s time with the U.N., and upon his departure, Malloch-Brown took on brief roles at Soros’ Quantum Fund, Soros Fund Management and what was then the Open Society Institute. He’s thus returning to familiar stomping grounds as head of OSF. In the words of Alexander Soros, who’s already poised to help lead OSF, “I have known Mark my whole life… He has been a friend and partner to my father for more than three decades.”
6. He chaired an electronic voting company
Following his tenure as a U.K. government minister, Malloch-Brown returned to the private sector, taking a number of consultant roles and joining a number of boards. One example worth noting is a company called SGO Corporation Limited, which owns the electronic voting machine manufacturer Smartmatic. Based in the United Kingdom, Smartmatic is a player in the international push to modernize voting, an effort that faces unique challenges in the U.S., because elections aren’t administered nationally. Malloch-Brown recently resigned from his position as SGO’s chairman.
Malloch-Brown’s interests in this area make sense, given his career in international development and commitments to, well, an open society. But this connection does give fodder to the conspiracy theorists, despite the fact that no direct link exists between Smartmatic and George Soros.
7. He has published a book
Malloch-Brown’s book, “The Unfinished Global Revolution,” came out in 2011. In it, he argues from his experience at the highest levels of global development that national governments have been losing grip in the face of global challenges. The book looks favorably on what international institutions can do to fill in those gaps if they’re empowered to do so. According to a description on Amazon, the book also chronicles how “ad hoc arrangements among NGOs, civil society and the private sector are filling in the gap created by the failures of individual governments.”
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It’ll be interesting to see where Malloch-Brown, a complex figure with a hyperactive career, takes this grantmaker with its own complex and distinctive role on the global stage. We’ve written in the past that former president Chris Stone—followed by Gaspard—also faced the internal challenge of managing an unwieldy organizational structure, not to mention family dynamics within the House of Soros. Malloch-Brown’s managerial and public relations chops will no doubt come in handy.
As for the aspects of Malloch-Brown’s career that might invite suspicion or attack, there’s a sense that Soros couldn’t be bothered to care. He and OSF are already bogeymen on the right, and that isn’t changing anytime soon. Might as well elevate someone he knows well, especially since the 90-year-old must be planning for what comes next.
