Rajiv Shah

Shah was born to Indian Gujarati immigrant parents who settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the late 1960s. Shah is an adherent of the Hindu faith. He grew up in the Detroit area and attended Wylie E. Groves High School. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in economics. He went on to University of Pennsylvania, where he earned an M.S. in health economics from the Wharton School of Business and an M.D. from the Perelman School of Medicine. Shah also studied abroad during his bachelor's at the London School of Economics, where he earned a general course certificate in economics. During the 2000 Gore-Lieberman Presidential Campaign, Shah was a health policy advisor and research associate. He also served as a member of Governor Ed Rendell's (D-PA) transition committee on health.

After Shah resigned from USAID on January 30, 2015, he was appointed Distinguished Fellow in Residence at Georgetown University, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, developing and teaching a graduate seminar on Rethinking Global Development and National Security policy with an emphasis on fragile states, data and innovation. He also founded and serves as Managing Partner for Latitude Capital, a global emerging markets power and infrastructure private equity firm.

Moneyball for Government

Shah co-authored a bipartisan chapter in the second edition of the book Moneyball for Government with Michael Gerson, former assistant to the president for policy and strategic planning under President George W. Bush. The chapter, titled "Foreign Assistance and the Revolution of Rigor," calls for data and evidence to drive U.S. foreign aid and provides a roadmap for improving and sustaining foreign assistance programs.

United Nations High-Level Panel on the Global Response to Health Crises

In 2015, Shah was one of six global leaders appointed by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to review the world's capacity to prepare for and respond to global pandemic threats. The panel presented their findings and recommendations to the Secretary General, UN General Assembly, and the G8 and G20 groups of leaders.

Shah is married to Shivam Mallick Shah. They have three children and currently reside in Washington, D.C.

The Gates Foundation

Shah joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2001, serving in a range of leadership roles including Director of Agricultural Development, Director of Strategic Opportunities, Deputy Director of Policy and Finance and Chief Economist.

Shah was also responsible for developing the International Finance Facility for Immunization, which raised more than $5 billion for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). IFFI has been recognized as an example of the power of innovative financing for global development.

The Rockefeller Foundation

On January 5, 2017, the board of trustees announced the unanimous selection of Shah to serve as the thirteenth president of the Rockefeller Foundation. He assumed office on March 1, 2017, succeeding Dr. Judith Rodin, who had served as president for nearly twelve years. Shah is the first-ever Indian-American to serve as president of the foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to improve the lives of humanity around the world.