Claire Thwaites Head of the Vodafone Group Foundation and UN Foundation Partnership
Claire Thwaites joined the UN Foundation in December 2007; she heads the Partnership between the Vodafone Group Foundation and the United Nations Foundation.
Before her current role, Ms. Thwaites was based in Brussels as Head of EU Affairs for Vodafone. In that role she oversaw telecommunications regulatory policy developments and political engagement with the EU institutions. Previously Ms. Thwaites led international government affairs at Vodafone, based in the UK, working with Vodafone’s subsidiaries world-wide to increase political engagement.
Prior to that, Ms. Thwaites was Vice President of Government Affairs at Marconi and a Senior Manager of Government Affairs at Allied Domecq.
Ms. Thwaites has worked for members of the UK Parliament, the European Parliament and also in the House of Representatives.
Ms. Thwaites has a Degree in Political Science from the University of Leicester in the UK.
Mitul Shah Senior Director, Technology Partnerships
United Nations Foundation
Mr. Mitul Shah is the Senior Director of Technology Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation. He is directing a partnership between the Vodafone Group Foundation and the UN Foundation. The partnership leverages Vodafone’s core strengths – its mobile technology, global infrastructure, and capacity for mass consumer outreach – with the UN’s scale, mission, and human capital. Its goal is to support activities and manage initiatives that use technology tools to help the UN address the world’s toughest challenges more effectively and efficiently. He is also directing the United Nations Foundation’s efforts on program evaluation and performance measurement.
Prior to joining UNF, Mitul was the Director of Programs at the International Youth Foundation (IYF) in Baltimore, MD. At IYF, Mitul created and directed the Bridgeit program, a distance education program using mobile technology to empower teachers in the classroom. The program consisted of a multi-sector partnership consisting of UNDP, Nokia and Pearson. Along with Bridgeit, Mitul directed a USAID funded program in the Philippines called the Education and Livelihood Skills Alliance. Prior to working at IYF, Mitul was a senior consultant at Inforte Corporation, an information technology and strategy consulting company. Mitul holds a Masters in Business Administration degree at the University of Maryland at College Park and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of California at Riverside.
