Thirty years ago, a young man named Mark Viso joined Food for the Hungry (FH) as a volunteer in famine-ravaged Ethiopia. He saw the crisis there and knew he had to do something. That something, serving the people of Ethiopia, changed Mark’s heart. He credits that experience for the passion he developed for international relief and development and propelled him down the path to serving with other organizations like World Vision and Pact in senior leadership roles.
That passion has come full circle as we are excited to announce we’ve selected Mark to lead FH in its next season as our President and CEO. Mark explains:
“After serving with Food for the Hungry in Ethiopia, it changed my life. I became passionate about helping ‘the least of these’ and this led me through a career and back full circle to lead FH into the next phase of growth and global impact. I am humbled and honored to be named the next CEO of this world-changing organization.”
Most recently, Mark completed a short-term role as President of the Institute for Development Impact (I4DI), preparing it to take its innovative, technology-enabled, integrated approach to scale. Prior to that, Mark served for nearly 11 years as President and CEO of Pact, a global development non-governmental organization working in nearly forty countries. Prior to Pact, Mark served as Senior Vice President for International Development at World Learning and Vice President of International Programs at World Vision US. Mark has extensive field experience, having lived and worked overseas for over fifteen years, including Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, Europe, and the Caucasus region.
Mark has been active with various global fora and initiatives including the World Economic Forum, BSR, Society for International Development, the Global Battery Alliance and others. He has served on several boards, primarily with organizations focused on solving the challenge of poverty and marginalization.
He is a proud native of California and received his BA in International Affairs from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and graduate work at The George Washington University. Along with his wife, Kristine, and his son Booker, he is an avid biker, rock climber, kayaker and backpacker.
We believe that Mark is the right person at this particular time in the life of FH and we are excited about the passion, talent, and experience he brings to an already incredibly strong executive leadership team.
