NEW DELHI : M. Hari Menon leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s India Office and manages its South and South-East Asia initiatives. As Director, he drives the foundation’s projects in India, concentrating on enhancing family health, sanitation, digital financial inclusion, agriculture, and gender equality. Hari’s role involves working closely with central and state governments, NGOs, community organizations, researchers, and the private sector to achieve the country’s health and development goals.

Hari has effectively handled a range of complex portfolios within the foundation, building strong collaborations with government bodies, public and private sector partners, philanthropists, and NGOs. His deep expertise and broad network in the development field are pivotal in creating significant impact.

India has made notable advancements in health, nutrition, sanitation, digital financial inclusion, agricultural success, and women’s empowerment. Hari is committed to building on this progress by applying the foundation’s global knowledge and resources to benefit those in most need.

Since joining the foundation in 2006, with a brief interval from 2011 to 2013, Hari has been a key player in public health programs, notably in maternal and child health and HIV prevention. Prior to his current role, he led teams focused on policy, advocacy, and program communications for Global Health, Global Development, and Global Growth & Opportunity. Since 2017, he has also overseen the foundation’s policy and government relations efforts for South and South-East Asia.

During his time away from the foundation from 2011 to 2013, Hari served as a strategic philanthropy adviser to Rohini Nilekani and has experience in the consumer goods and IT sectors with firms like Colgate Palmolive and Infosys Technologies. He earned a graduate degree in business management from XLRI School of Management, Jamshedpur, and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.