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Alice Albright ’79 on Values-Based Leadership

On Feb. 19, 2014, NCS alumna Alice Albright, Class of 1979, spoke about “values-based leadership” to an alumnae gathering at NCS. She recounted the career path that has led to her current position as CEO of the Global Partnership for Education (since Jan. 2013); her prior positions included Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) (2009-2013); Chief Financial and Investment Officer for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) (2001-2009); and prior positions with the Carlyle Group, JP Morgan, Bankers Trust Company, and Citicorp.
 
Excerpts from her remarks and Q&A at NCS follow.
 
After college, my first internships were in finance; I became interested in emerging markets during a time of great transition. In South Africa apartheid was coming apart, the Berlin Wall had just come down, and Latin America was in the wake of a debt crisis. It was a fascinating time, and I ended up working in finance for 16 years.
 
I next went to the Carlyle Group, and worked in leveraged buyouts. After some time, I developed a desire to go into public service. A job came to my attention, one as chief financial officer (CFO) for an organization that would address the lack of vaccines in the developing world: Bill Gates and several governments were setting up an initiative to fix the problem. Although I hadn’t been a CFO before, I applied and got the job. It became the most amazing adventure, one of the most successful global health ventures ever for developing countries. The ultimate lesson was, take a risk with your career. The experience also instilled in me a lifelong interest in health in developing countries; just yesterday I was in a conversation about how we can merge health and education efforts in developing nations.
 
During Obama’s first term, I got a call from the White House to be the COO of the Export-Import Bank. This was in March 2009, when the world was in economic freefall; again, it was a remarkable experience, in which I saw how governments contend with such difficulties.

Financing exports had typically been a very private sector activity, but at that moment, all of the regular assumptions were no longer true. The Ex-Im Bank provided substantial support for US exporters. When I arrived the balance sheet was $58 billion; when I left, it was $110 billion. The job taught me about the function and dysfunction of government. I have a huge respect for people who work for the government, who are very smart, deeply committed, and work 24/7. Again, the career lesson was go for it—go, learn, and good things will happen.
 
My current role as CEO of the Global Partnership for Education has been yet another adventure. I spend my time talking to the countries who give us money, or the countries to which we give money. We work in the 60 poorest countries, 29 of which are considered "fragile.” In the last year, I’ve visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Senegal, and Ethiopia. Education has a role to play not only in stabilizing fragile countries but also in fostering their economic growth.
 
Afghanistan is trying to recover girls’ education from the Taliban. The Afghan minister of education is committed to opening schools closed by the Taliban, and is making progress. Educating girls has a disproportionate effect on the prosperity of the society: they marry later, have jobs, take better care of children, have better health outcomes.
 
Education is nation-building. Education can begin to break the cycle of violence in a nation. People can learn to stop hating each other if they can go to school together.
 
If asked for career advice, I’d say my motivation to keep working comes from really understanding my value system. For me, it’s helping developing countries, whether with health, finance, or access to education. Whatever I do must fit into that zone. Coming from a place like NCS, we are endowed with great privilege; this is one of the best schools in the world. We hopefully come out with a sense of responsibility, ethics, and conscience, and should apply ourselves to helping resolve the world’s more difficult issues.
 
For those who may have a liberal arts degree, I would say, go get a trade, learn a skill, and then be very creative about how you apply that skill. If you go to medical school, you don’t have to be a doctor: you can work in the health field. Law school doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be a lawyer. The public and nonprofit sectors need you badly. …
 
Strengths and skills I’ve had to refine to be an effective women leader? I work hard. I think you have to not take yourself all that seriously. And there’s no replacement for just asking a lot of questions. Being honest about what you don’t know is valuable: you start learning. I think women solve problems differently. Men tend to joust; women listen, and form groups. This is incredibly powerful. The only way we'll develop the muscle to solve the world’s problems is by working together.
 
The evening was a great reunion of several members of the Class of ’79, who came to cheer their classmate on! There were also alumnae ranging from the Classes of ’54 to ’05, and Ms. Albright’s remarks were relevant to all. We are very grateful to Ms. Albright for taking the time to share her experiences with us.
 
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    • Alice Albright '79.

    • Members of the Class of 1979 with Head of School Kathleen O'Neill Jamieson (back row, third from right)

    • Alumnae from the "aughts" (2000s) years.

    • Albright and Esther Brimmer '79, also an expert in international affairs.

    • More of our terrific alumnae!

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