Appointment of Mr. Philippe Le Houérou as Senior Advisor to CEO of ICD

Jeddah – 23 December 2020 – The Board of Directors of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) noted the appointment of Mr. Philippe Le Houérou as Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ICD. Mr. Le Houérou’s role will be to enhance and provide guidance on the implementation of ICD’s new strategy and assist with the development of financial market prospects, in line with the corporation's mission and vision. 

Mr. Le Houérou is the former CEO of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and led the institution from March 2016 to September 2020. He was responsible for developing and implementing a new strategy for IFC, aimed at “creating new markets and opportunities” in developing countries. 

Mr. Le Houérou has been credited with establishing a framework which calculates the influence of the growth of each IFC project, creating the "Cascade" methodology that leverages the World Bank Community as a whole to draw even more private sector funding and optimize public debt in developing countries, assisting with developing new tools to draw more private sector investment in vulnerable states and developing countries and developing diagnostics of the world's private sector and IFC country strategies. Support of this policy by IFC’s shareholders led to a landmark capital raise for IFC in 2018, under the stewardship of Mr. Houérou. 

In this context, Mr. Le Houérou said: “I've always been attracted to big challenges, and I think the mandate of ICD holds a role in many profitable sectors. I will use my experience in any way possible to seize the potential opportunities offered to ICD and help in developing the private sector and markets in ICD’s member countries”.

Mr. Ayman Sejiny, CEO of ICD said: “Philippe Le Houérou’s ability not only to spot opportunities but to execute them remarkably is admirable. There will be large-scale adjustments undertaken to restore financial stability as the world transitions from COVID-19. We intend to leverage Mr. Le Houérou’s vast experience and relationships to facilitate the achievement of ICD’s development mandate during this recovery process and beyond. We are very happy to have him on board with us.” 

It is worth noting that Mr. Le Houérou holds an MBA from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. Prior to his arrival at IFC, Mr. Le Houérou was Vice President for Policy & Partnerships at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in 2015. He previously held several leadership positions at the World Bank. As the World Bank’s Regional Vice President for South Asia from 2013 to 2015, he designed a new regional strategy, restructured the Bank’s regional portfolio, and more than doubled new lending. He was Regional Vice President for Europe and Central Asia from 2009 to 2013, where he led the Bank’s effort to mitigate the global economic crisis’ impact on the region.

Mr. Philippe Le Houérou Introductory Words (Click here to see the Video

The full biography of Mr. Philippe Le Houérou (Click here to read the Bio

Note to Editors: 

About ICD 

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is a multilateral development financial institution and is a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group. ICD was established in November 1999 to support the economic development of its member countries through the provision of finance for private sector projects, promoting competition and entrepreneurship, providing advisory services to the governments and private companies, and encouraging cross border investments. ICD is rated ‘A2’ by Moody’s, ‘A-’ by S&P and, ‘A+’ by Fitch. ICD establishes and strengthens cooperation and partnership relationships with an aim to establish joint or collective financing. ICD also applies financial technology (Fintech) to make financing more efficient and comprehensive.