Development economist Dr Nazneen Ahmed will become the new executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) from September 1, succeeding Dr Fahmida Khatun, who will take up the role of distinguished fellow at the leading policy think tank.
CPD announced the leadership change in a statement on Thursday..
Fahmida has served as CPD’s executive director since February 2017, completing nine and a half years in the position. She has been associated with the organisation since 2003.
She will join CPD’s existing distinguished fellows Prof Rounaq Jahan, Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya and Prof Mustafizur Rahman. Debapriya and Mustafizur are former executive directors of CPD.
During Fahmida’s tenure as executive director, from February 2017 to August 2026, CPD said the scope, diversity and quality of its research programmes expanded significantly.
She also led efforts to strengthen the organisation’s physical and technological infrastructure, staff development, research capacity, publication quality, digitalisation and institutional governance.
Nazneen brings nearly three decades of experience in economic research, policy analysis and development practice in Bangladesh and internationally.
Before joining CPD, she served at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as country economist at UNDP Bangladesh for two years and later as a policy adviser at the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific in New York for three years.
She previously spent 25 years at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), where she joined as a research associate in July 1998 and rose through successive positions to become a research director.
Her research and policy interests cover international trade, industry and employment, governance, gender equality, social protection, inclusive growth and broader macroeconomic and development issues.
Nazneen has published extensively in national and international peer-reviewed journals and contributed book chapters and research reports for international organisations. During her career, she has worked with organisations including the World Bank, DFID, UNCTAD, ILO, IFC, the European Union, IFPRI and the Islamic Development Bank.
She holds a PhD in Economics from Wageningen University in the Netherlands and a master’s degree in Development Economics from the University of Sussex in the UK. She completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Economics at the University of Dhaka and was a Chevening Scholar.
With the transition, CPD will retain Fahmida’s institutional experience in its senior research leadership while bringing Nazneen’s extensive research and international policy experience into the executive role.
The changes come as CPD continues to position itself as a major platform for research and policy dialogue on Bangladesh’s economic and development challenges.