We are thrilled to hear of Jim Yong Kim’s selection by the 25-member panel of the World Bank. Our excitement stems from our understanding of Jim as a leader and his legacy to date. It comes from seeing the potential for progress and change that Kim’s appointment holds—what it means for the world for the next 10 years and beyond.
In 2007, we met Dr Jim Yong Kim as he gathered faculty across Harvard and MIT to envision a new field of study in Global Health Delivery. Dr Kim already had an astounding record to build on: a practicing physician and medical anthropologist, he’d put his smarts to practical use as an early partner of Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Todd McCormack, and Thomas White in building and then continuing to lead and shape the much-admired Partners In Health. Through the years, he has been an inspiring leader, visionary strategist, and highly effective manager who oversaw the growth and development of PIH. An early and enduring insight from PIH’s hard-won experience was that health care delivery could only generate value when accompanied by critical, targeted investments in human resource development, infrastructure, and the diffusion of knowledge.