Candid has announced the selection of Ann Mei Chang as the organization's CEO, effective October 4, 2021.

A leading expert on social innovation with global experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, Chang will begin serving in the role on October 4, 2021, overlapping with current leader Bradford K. Smith through the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition. She will lead the knowledge-driven organization in harnessing the precision of data, the power of technology, and the compassion of the social sector.

The author of Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good, Chang served as chief innovation officer at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the first executive director of its U.S. Global Development Lab. In addition, she was chief innovation officer for Pete for America, chief innovation officer at Mercy Corps, and senior advisor for women and technology at the U.S. Department of State.

Prior to her work in the public and social sectors, Chang was a seasoned technology executive, with more than twenty years of experience at Google, Apple, and Intuit, as well as at a range of startups. As senior engineering director at Google, she led worldwide engineering for mobile applications and services, with a mission to bring the next billion people online. She earned a B.S. in computer science from Stanford University and is a member of the Aspen Institute's Henry Crown Fellows class of 2011.

"Ann Mei is a strategist, problem-solver, and collaborator who is ideally suited to lead Candid in achieving its ambitious 2030 vision," said T. Sylvester John, chair of Candid's board of trustees and head of the search committee. "Her extraordinary success in the tech industry and international development, passion for Candid's mission, and focus on what matters in people's lives made her the unanimous choice for the role. We are delighted to have Ann Mei guide us as we live our values of being driven, direct, accessible, curious, and inclusive."

"Candid plays such an important role as the information infrastructure that supports mission-driven work in the U.S. and around the world. I am thrilled by the opportunity to lead an organization I admire deeply," said Chang. "I look forward to listening to and learning about the needs of Candid's constituents to help increase the organization’s scale and impact."