51³Ô¹Ï Secretary-General, António Guterres, announced on 09 April 2024 the appointment of Kirstine Damkjær of Denmark as Deputy Executive Director, Delivery and Partnerships of the 51³Ô¹Ï Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
Ms. Damkjær has over 25 years of global senior-level management experience, including significant expertise in infrastructure, development finance and project implementation. She currently serves as Non-Executive Director and committee chair of Africa Finance Corporation, a multilateral financial institution, alongside a wide range of board and advisory leadership roles.
She previously served as Chief Executive Officer of EKF, the Danish Export Credit Agency (2019-2021), Principal Portfolio Manager at the World Bank (2008-2012) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) (2000-2008 and 2012–2019) in various roles as Global Head of Equity, Chief Investment Officer and Principal Investment Officer, notably leading global infrastructure projects and establishing partnerships to mobilize funding for development projects.
A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Ms. Damkjær holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, as well as certifications from Stanford University Graduate School of Business (Leading Change and Organizational Renewal), United States, the Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, the Institute of Management Development (IMD), Switzerland (High Performance Boards Programs), and recently completed a certificate course in Artificial Intelligence:  Implications for Business Strategy, with MIT Management Executive Education, United States. Ms. Damkjær is fluent in English, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian, and has a working knowledge of German, Spanish, French and Mandarin.
