UVA Darden Welcomes Former Save the Children CEO as Senior Adviser

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business has announced the appointment of former Save the Children President and CEO Carolyn Miles (MBA ’88) as senior adviser to the dean and executive fellow. She will also serve as a distinguished lecturer starting in fall 2021.

Miles is a familiar presence in the Darden community, as she has remained an active and enthusiastic alumna, trusted confidant to Darden leadership and frequent participant in events and engagements to share lessons learned and advice for a career in global leadership.

She is concluding her long service on the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees, and has served as chair of the Branding, Marketing & Communication Committee of the Board since 2016.

In 2020, Miles retired as president and CEO of Save the Children, the world’s leading child-focused NGO, after nearly a decade in the role. In the position, Miles managed key facets of a complex, global humanitarian organization, led a staff of more than 1,700 and helped lead a successful capital campaign as part of the organization’s 100-year anniversary. Under her leadership, the organization reached more than 130 million children a year, providing critical resources in areas such as health care, education and child protection. Her previous roles at the organization included executive vice president and COO, and multiple leadership roles in the marketing area.

Among her professional honors, she was named the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center Distinguished Alumna in 2017 and has been named one of People’s “25 Women Changing the World” and also one of Fortune’s “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.”

Prior to Save the Children, Miles held global leadership roles in financial services and as part of an Asia-based startup. She served last fall as a professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship at Syracuse University. She is also a current member of the eight-person Sustainability Council at Bayer AG, advising management on sustainability issues.

In her new role at Darden, she will forge strategic relationships with top management from foundations to generate philanthropy and explore opportunities for partnership. She will also work closely with the dean’s office on strategic projects and will share her expertise in the classroom as a lecturer in sustainability and other pertinent issues.

There is also a significant student interaction component to the role, and Miles will work with student groups and mentor students seeking careers in the nonprofit area.

“This is wonderful news for the Darden School,” said Dean Scott Beardsley. “I’m delighted that Carolyn will shine her talents on the Darden mission, and I’m confident she will help strengthen the School and forge new partnerships in a variety of dimensions.”