Overview

Gender

female

Ann M. Veneman was appointed to Alexion's Board of Director's in May 2010. Previously, she served as Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) from May 2005 to April 2010, leading a renowned global organization which supports multiple aspects of child health, nutrition, safety and education in over 150 countries and territories.

Her responsibilities included oversight of the annual delivery of millions of doses of life-saving therapies, largely through UNICEF's extensive global partnerships with governments and non-governmental organizations at all levels.

Under Ann Veneman leadership, UNICEF launched initiatives to improve business practices, transparency and collaboration in order to ensure that the agency's programs reached those most vulnerable and that its resources were utilized efficiently to protect, save and improve the lives of children around the world.

Prior to joining UNICEF, Ms. Veneman served as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from January 2001 to January 2005. At the USDA, she led an organization of 110,000 employees with an annual budget of $113 billion. Among her responsibilities at this diverse agency was leadership of the nation's food and nutrition programs, including services for food stamps, school lunch programs, and nutrition assistance for women, infants, and children. An attorney by training,.

Ann Veneman earned her Bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Davis; a Master's degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley; and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.