Mary Aikenhead

Mary Aikenhead provides management and strategic direction for a group that focuses on market solutions that can help strengthen key components of primary health care systems, particularly in the area of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health.

Mary joined the foundation in 2013 as a senior program officer on the Integrated Delivery team. For six years, she managed a grant portfolio focused on understanding end users of health products, primarily for family planning and HIV prevention, and integrating that understanding into the entire research-to-rollout process.

Earlier, Mary spent more than 15 years in strategy, marketing, and commercial development roles. She established and directed DKT International’s first office in Ghana, launching three new health brands that achieved national sales targets within one year. Before that, Mary was an associate marketing director at Procter & Gamble, where she oversaw commercial innovation for the feminine care division’s $3 billion portfolio.

Mary’s experience also includes time in Pakistan with Voluntary Service Overseas, serving as a vice principal and teacher.

Mary received a B.F.A. from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and an MBA from Yale University.