Purnima Mane

As President and Chief Executive Officer of Pathfinder International, Purnima Mane oversees more than 850 staff around the world, an annual budget exceeding $100 million, and sexual and reproductive health programs in more than 20 developing countries. She is a distinguished diplomat, leader, manager, academician, and social activist, as well as an internationally recognized expert on gender, and sexual and reproductive health.

Purnima assumed leadership of Pathfinder in February 2012, with more than 30 years of management experience, the last 15 years of which have been in the United Nations system, including UNAIDS and WHO. Most recently, as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director (Programme) of UNFPA, she directed global policies and programs for the agency.

Prior to embarking on her international career, Purnima spent over a decade advancing public health and gender-related issues in her native India, where she served as Associate Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and received her MA, MPhil, and PhD in social work with a focus on women in the work force.

She has coauthored four books and is the founding editor of the journal Culture, Health and Sexuality. In 2011, Purnima completed her term as co-chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health. Today, she serves on the Policy Advisory Committee for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. Purnima draws on her wealth of experience to advance Pathfinder’s mission—to ensure that people everywhere have the right and opportunity to live a healthy sexual and reproductive life.