Shyam Sundaram (he/him) is the Global Operations Partner at Dalberg Advisors in Washington, D.C., where he leads many of the firm’s internal operations functions, including finance, people, knowledge management, and legal. He works with regional and country operations leads to ensure smooth operational functioning across the firm’s 20+ offices.

As co-lead of the firm’s Talent and Leadership Practice Area, he contributes to conceptualizing, designing, and implementing leadership programs for emerging and established leaders in the social impact sector.

Working with teams, Shyam contributes to both program design and multi-year implementation efforts. His past projects include:

• Designing a first-of-its-kind, year-long leadership program tailored for frontline leaders combatting modern slavery, featuring a deliberate focus on gender empowerment and trauma-informed approaches.
• Designing and launching four Leadership Labs for the United Nations from Pakistan to Somalia to Bangladesh, using an adaptive leadership methodology to help teams break down silos and collaborate more effectively.
• Conceptualizing and launching leadership programs for major funders aimed at enhancing grantee skillsets in monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning, strategic communications, and organizational effectiveness.
• Building a leadership program targeted at emerging leaders at the intersection of climate and health, assisting them in honing their skills, finding their voice, and making long-term impacts.

Additionally, Shyam works closely with C-suite leaders of large NGOs and international organizations on strategic planning, organizational restructuring, and establishing robust monitoring and evaluation approaches. He partners with leaders to instigate short-term changes and ensures long-term sustainability, guiding them through cultural, political, and technical challenges.

Prior to joining Dalberg, Shyam held roles at various multilateral organizations and NGOs, including the World Bank Group, Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Crisis Group. He has contributed his insights on leadership and strategy in the social impact sector to publications such as Devex and Huffington Post.

Shyam holds an MS with Honors from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a BA with Honors from Brown University. He is also a certified coach with a Master’s in Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance from American University. He is proficient in English, French, and Tamil.