Shenggen Fan has been director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since 2009. He has conducted extensive research on pro-poor development strategies and public investment in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East as a research fellow at IFPRI in 1995 and as director of the Development Strategy and Governance Division in 2005.

He is one of the Champions of Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward cutting global food loss and waste. He also serves as a member of the Lead Group for the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and advises many national governments on agriculture, food security and nutrition.

In 2017, Shenggen received the highly prestigious 2017 Fudan Management Excellence Award, referred to in China as the “Nobel Prize for Management.” In 2014, Shenggen received the Hunger Hero Award from the World Food Programme for his commitment and leadership in fighting hunger worldwide.