Hala Hanna becomes the Executive Director of MIT program Solve

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) program Solve is pleased to introduce Hala Hanna as its new executive director. MIT Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation to foster creativity to address global problems.

To build a more just and sustainable society, Hala has more than 15 years of experience working in the public, corporate, and nonprofit sectors. Hala worked at MIT Solve for the previous six years, where she contributed to the project's growth into a worldwide community.

With a focus on marginalized areas, Solve utilizes open innovation challenges to identify the most potential tech-based social entrepreneurs globally. Afterward, Solve assists them so they may expand their effect.

More than 60 international and customized challenges have been launched by MIT Solve with the help of the Solve community, an ecosystem made up of close to 100 firms from various industries and sectors. About 16,000 entries for Solve's challenges have come in from creators in more than 180 different nations.

Over 260 Solver teams have been chosen by Solve, reaching over 170 million people worldwide, and over $60 million in financing has been enabled to help innovators expand and create long-lasting impact.

Hala served as the World Economic Forum's Director of Strategy and Impact before joining MIT Solve. She has expertise in counselling top officials on reform and donor engagement while working with the World Bank and the United Nations.

Her professional background includes employment in North America, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. Hala has also served in a variety of advisory capacities, including those with UN Women, UN projects, and the Women Political Leaders organization located in Brussels.

Hala has an MBA from American University, a Master's in International Development from Harvard University, and a Bachelor's in Economics from the American University of Beirut. She also holds a Master's in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

According to Cynthia Barnhardt, MIT Provost and President of the Solve Steering Committee, "Hala's appointment as executive director is a testament to her passion for supporting innovators from all over the world, her dedication to creating a better planet, and her ability to inspire those around her." I am convinced that Solve will achieve new heights in promoting innovation to address the most critical problems facing our planet under Hala's leadership.

The concept that complicated global problems may be solved by fostering and encouraging human inventiveness throughout the world is at the heart of MIT Solve's work, according to Hala. "This mission is crucial and inspirational. The opportunity to lead Solve's worldwide community in building a more inclusive and sustainable society for future generations makes me feel incredibly honoured."