ODI Chief Executive and humanitarian and peacebuilding leader Sara Pantuliano has been made a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG) in King Charles III’s 2024 New Year Honours List.
The honour, which recognises services to peacebuilding, humanitarian assistance and international development, acknowledges Sara’s dedication as a humanitarian practitioner, mediator, policy thinker and academic, her wide-ranging advisory work and her tremendous leadership at ODI, within the UN and across the global affairs and development sector.
Congratulating Sara on her achievement Chair of ODI’s Board of Trustee’s Sir Suma Chakrabarti said:
“This prestigious honour and well-deserved recognition is a testament to Sara's exceptional contributions. Sara's tireless commitment to the policy and practice of peacebuilding, humanitarian assistance, and international development has been nothing short of remarkable. Under her dynamic leadership, ODI has flourished, and I am extremely proud to witness the positive impact we are making under her guidance. Her exceptional work is a source of inspiration for us all.”
Sara – who has held senior and leadership positions at ODI since 2006, most recently as Chief Executive – also chairs the UN Secretary General’s 7th Advisory Committee on Peacebuilding.
Sara’s award puts her amongst a select group of women leaders in international affairs whose work has been recognised this year; including Fiona Hill of Brookings Institution and incoming Chancellor at Durham University; Susanna Moorehead, lately Chair of the Development Assistance Committee at OECD and Jane Nelson, Director of the Corporate Responsibility Initiative at Harvard University.