Appointment of Ms. Rima Christine Zaitoon as Vice President for Global Advancement
Dear LAU community,
I am happy to inform you that, on the recommendation of the President, the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Ms. Rima Christine Zaitoon as Vice President for Global Advancement (VPGA) effective September 1, 2023.
Ms. Zaitoon will be based in New York and will be in charge of Advancement in North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) and in South America. She will lead the global advancement programs for the University and will direct planning and execution of a major fundraising campaign for LAU worldwide. Ms. Zaitoon will drive the initial planning for a capital campaign that will be heavily based upon donors in the Americas. This campaign will also seek gifts from Europe, UK and the Middle East. Ms. Zaitoon will lead the advancement team located in the New York office and will work closely with the President and Vice President of Institutional Advancement (VPIA), Mr. Gabriel Abiad, to ensure that the New York staff closely aligns and coordinates with the advancement team in Lebanon.
Ms. Zaitoon has more than 20 years of experience in international and domestic fundraising at academic institutions in the US and the MENA region and at various consulting companies. A senior-level fundraising professional and expert in strategic philanthropy and partnerships, she has an impressive track record in planning and implementing fundraising programs, achieving business growth, and securing multi-million-dollar gifts.
As Executive Director of Advancement and Philanthropy at New York University Abu Dhabi, she quadrupled the revenue of the department in one year. During the seven years she worked as Senior Associate Director of Principal Gifts at Yale University in Connecticut, where she was in charge of 30 percent of the university’s principal gifts donors, she closed several substantial gifts in her first year and raised one of the largest eight-figure gifts to the fundraising campaign from one family with diverse interests.
Among her many accomplishments at King’s Academy in Amman, Jordan, she increased philanthropic giving in record time from a global community that included the US, Europe, and Asia, coordinated all domestic and international fundraising events and activities for the Academy, including running the yearlong tenth anniversary celebrations.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Zaitoon worked as Director of the Annual Fund and later as a Director of Major/Principal Gifts at the American University of Beirut, New York, during which she generated over 15% of the university’s gift total, set and implemented the annual fund strategies for North and South America, Europe and the Middle East, doubling the amount raised, and achieved the largest percentage increase in donors in the annual fund’s history.
Ms. Zaitoon obtained a BA in Political Science from the American University of Beirut, an Accounting and Economics Certificate from the Economics Institute, University of Colorado, a Securities, and Market Analysis Certificate from New York University and an Accounting Certificate from the American Institute for Banking.
Please join me in congratulating Ms. Zaitoon on her new appointment and in wishing her continued success in her new position.
Michel E. Mawad, M.D.
President