Jonathan Simon has been named senior vice president of Chemonics’ Asia division, President and CEO Richard Dreiman announced on August 31. Simon assumes responsibility for the region from Executive Vice President Susi Mudge, who had been managing the division since the start of the year.
“Jonathan has recently returned from successfully leading an important anti-corruption project in Indonesia, so he brings an important field perspective to our team,” Dreiman said. “That, along with his extensive home-office experience, makes him an excellent choice to lead the division in expanding its work in the region.”
Simon joined Chemonics in 1992 as an editor and quickly moved into a business development role, leading regional activities from Indonesia. Most recently, Simon served as chief of party of the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Indonesia Control of Corruption Threshold project, which helped transform Indonesia’s judicial sector. The project ushered in new systems to promote transparency, accountability, and internal management within the Indonesian Supreme Court and the civil and religious courts it oversees. The project also increased compliance with anti-money laundering regulations through successful public communications campaigns and established five e-Government Procurement Centers, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings for provincial administrations.
Previously, Simon led USAID’s Aceh Technical Assistance Recovery project. He also served as deputy chief of party on USAID/Indonesia’s Civil Society Support and Strengthening Program. Simon recently returned to Chemonics’ Washington, D.C., office as a director in the Asia region.
“Coming back to the home office and taking the reins of the Asia division at a time when the region is getting increased attention from Washington and is front and center on global issues such as climate change is an exciting challenge,” Simon said. “We have the people and the ideas to take on these issues and make major contributions to equitable development throughout Asia.”
Simon began his development career as an independent consultant in Indonesia, working with local and international NGOs. Prior to that he earned his master’s degree in international policy studies from Stanford University and his bachelor’s degree in political science from Haverford College.
