Our global leadership

Reena Ghelani, Chief Executive Officer

Reena Ghelani is a seasoned global leader with extensive experience from the international humanitarian and development sector, and the Chief Executive Officer of Plan International.

With over 25 years of frontline experience across humanitarian, displacement, human rights, and peacekeeping fields, she brings deep strategic leadership and operational expertise to Plan International, the global organisation advancing children’s rights and equality for girls.

Prior to joining Plan International, Reena served in the United Nations as an Assistant Secretary General, playing a pivotal role in ensuring communities transition from crisis to development swiftly and sustainably in the fields of climate change and food security. She has led global efforts to support displaced communities, coordinate emergency aid and shape humanitarian policies that drive long term recovery.

As Director of Operations and Advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Reena oversaw global operations across 40 offices, directing humanitarian responses in some of the world’s most complex crises, including Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. She has been instrumental in advancing the UN’s operational effectiveness, driving organisational reforms, and achieving gender parity in field leadership.

A fierce advocate for gender equality, diversity, and the decolonisation of aid, Reena champions the leadership of women and local organisations in humanitarian action. Born in Uganda and holding Australian citizenship, she is a global citizen deeply committed to building a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient future.

Carmen Elena Alemán, Regional Director Region of the Americas

Carmen Elena leads the Regional Hub in the Region of the Americas.

She began her career at Plan 17 years ago and has held many different positions. She started as a grants administrator, then became grants and communications manager, deputy country director and country director for Plan El Salvador.

During her journey with Plan, Carmen Elena has taken on various acting roles in the region, such as Resource Mobilisation Manager in the Dominican Republic and Country Director in Nicaragua, demonstrating her versatility and commitment to the organisation’s goals in different contexts and challenges.

For almost two years, she has held the position of Director of the Central America and Caribbean Subregion, where she has shown great leadership and  innovativeness. She has also supported and led the development of a number of high-impact initiatives for the region, including advancing shared services for Central America. She has also been part of various global initiatives linked with our funding model.

In addition to her distinguished career, Carmen Elena is the proud mother of children aged 3 and 11. She is committed to finding a balance between her personal and professional life and strives to be a role model both at home and in her professional environment.

Before joining Plan, she worked in El Salvador as a research and programme specialist for the Social Investment Fund for Local Development. Carmen Elena Alemán holds a degree in Economics from the Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas” in El Salvador and a Masters in International Development Cooperation from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.

Alasan Senghore, Regional Director West and Central Africa

Alasan leads the Regional Hub in the West and Central Africa Region.

Alasan is former Secretary General of the Gambia Red Cross Society. Prior to this position, he served as Permanent Observer and Head of Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to the United Nations in New York.

He also served as Regional Director of Africa for the IFRC, based in Nairobi, from October 2009 to April 2016. He managed the IFRC’s humanitarian activities covering 49 Sub-Saharan African countries. His experience included the management and coordination of international Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies’ support to African National Societies in their preparedness and response including the food insecurity operations in the Sahel, the horn of Africa and Southern Africa.

He has a track record of successfully managing Red Cross interventions in health emergencies and epidemics and humanitarian responses in support of displaced persons.  In addition to his vast experience and knowledge in managing and leading complex emergencies, Alasan is well versed in leadership development and civil society capacity development,  supporting Country Offices  and local partners in advancing localisation.

Born in The Gambia, Alasan speaks English and French. He holds a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) in Leadership and Sustainability in Business from the University of Cumbria, UK. 

Ram Kishan, Regional Director Asia-Pacific

Ram brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across humanitarian and development programmes in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He is deeply committed to ensuring that the rights and voices of girls and young women remain central to organisational priorities and impact.

He has a proven record of guiding organisations and teams through complex, high‑risk operating environments, leading large-scale humanitarian responses and overseeing long-term development initiatives. A consistent focus throughout his career has been strengthening local civil society organisations and networks in South Asia, supporting their leadership and influence in key policy arenas.

Before his current role, Ram served as Country Director for Plan International Nepal. During his tenure, he enhanced humanitarian preparedness and response capacity, expanded partnerships with local and national actors, and advanced programmes grounded in feminist leadership and aligned with global strategic priorities.

Earlier in his career, Ram held senior leadership positions with Mercy Corps, Christian Aid, Practical Action and ActionAid across Asia, the Middle East and West Africa. He has also engaged in platforms such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and SAARC forums.

A strong advocate for climate justice, Ram has been an active civil society voice at UN climate negotiations for more than a decade. He holds a master’s degree in social work and a bachelor of law, and brings a collaborative, values‑driven and people‑centred leadership approach to his work.

Hajir Maalim, Regional Director Middle East, Eastern and Southern Africa

Hajir leads the Regional Hub in the Middle East, Eastern and Southern Africa Region.

Hajir brings more than 20 years of experience in humanitarian and development work, having served in a variety of leadership roles across Africa and the Middle East.

Throughout his career, Hajir has held senior field positions including Regional Director in the Eastern, Southern and West Africa region, Country Director in Somalia and Yemen, and Head of Programmes in East Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East. His extensive expertise spans the design, implementation, and evaluation of both emergency and long-term development programs in some of the world’s most complex and fragile contexts. In addition to his international experience, Hajir also served in the Kenya Civil Service, further enriching his understanding of public-sector operations.

A Kenyan national, Hajir holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Loughborough University in the UK and a Bachelor of Technology in Civil and Structural Engineering from Moi University, Kenya.

Pete Manfield, Chief Impact Officer

Pete Manfield has more than 25 years of experience leading humanitarian and development work globally, with a strong focus on delivering impact at scale. He has worked in over 40 countries across Africa, the Middle East, Central America and Europe, primarily in contexts affected by conflict, climate shocks and protracted crises.

He specialises in linking emergency response with long-term systems strengthening, helping organisations improve how they deliver results for children and families. His work has focused on driving effectiveness, accountability and learning to maximise impact in complex environments.

Pete has held several senior leadership roles within the United Nations. Most recently, he served as Global Chief of Risk and Preparedness at UNICEF, where he led efforts to strengthen crisis anticipation, improve organisational performance in emergencies, and ensure more effective protection for children.

He previously led UNICEF’s emergency and resilience work in Eastern and Southern Africa, served as Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia, and headed the UN’s regional humanitarian coordination office for Eastern and Southern Africa. He has also held leadership roles in major responses in Syria and Yemen.

Earlier in his career, Pete worked with organisations including Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Red Cross Movement and the International Rescue Committee.

Celine Thibaut, Chief Financial Officer

As Plan International’s Chief Financial Officer, Celine is committed to ensuring Plan maximises its impact for the children we serve through protecting and leveraging the organisation’s financial resources.

Her priority is to drive operational excellence in our finance function and to embed data-driven strategic decision-making to meet the imperatives of Plan International’s strategy. To that effect, Celine looks forward to working with many different parts of our global organisation, with a focus on building mutual understanding and strengthening collaboration.

Previously, Celine was Plan International’s Director of Strategic Finance, leading the development of our strategic finance function. She was responsible for enhancing our organisational capability in financial planning and analysis, project, grants and sponsorship finance and financial business partnering.

Celine brings over 20 years’ experience in corporate finance, both in the private and non-profit sectors, and significant expertise in the international development and humanitarian sector in particular. Before Joining us in September 2021, Celine held the position of Regional Finance Director for the British Council, based in Singapore, where she was responsible for all aspects of strategic and operational finance across East Asia and for delivery of the finance strategy and sustainable regional growth.  From 2012 to 2015 Celine was with Save the Children as the Finance Manager for East and South Asia.  Her experience working regionally in diverse locations will be invaluable as we focus on strengthening our financial functions globally.

Kaumudi Bohms, Chief Operating Officer

As Chief Operating Officer, Kaumudi, known as Ko, leads a portfolio bringing together several core organisational functions including People and Culture, Safeguarding, IT and Transformation, Governance, Legal and Assurance and Risk.

Ko has over 20 years’ experience in the retail, financial services and ecommerce industries, including leading sizable IT delivery organisations and digital transformation programmes across Europe and Africa.  

Ko is driven by delivering value and ensuring that organisational functions execute business strategy and objectives. Amongst other achievements, she played an instrumental role in leading and managing a South African based IT organisation that developed and maintained one of the leading UK investment platforms; and also in leading the digital transformation programme for one of the largest financial services providers in South Africa with an offshore partner to deliver significant business savings.  

She is a passionate leader who believes that our greatest assets are our people and as a leader feels strongly about motivating people to realise their full potential both for their own benefit and that of the organisation.