Isobel Coleman

Isobel Coleman is Chief Executive Officer of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF). In this role, she oversees all aspects of the organization, working closely with the ADDF’s board and staff, scientific leadership, and global partners to advance high-impact research, forge strategic collaborations, and deploy mission-driven capital to catalyze innovation across the Alzheimer’s landscape. 

With more than three decades of leadership spanning the nonprofit sector, private industry, and the federal government, Isobel brings strategic vision, operational rigor, and global perspective. Isobel began her career at McKinsey & Company, where she rose to partner and advised global financial services firms, while also contributing to the McKinsey Global Institute and supporting the New York City Board of Education on a pro bono basis. A twice Senate-confirmed diplomat, she has served in senior government roles and led complex international initiatives at the intersection of economic development, global health, and public-private partnerships.

Isobel holds a D.Phil. and M.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University, where she was a Marshall Scholar, and a B.A. from Princeton University. A frequent public speaker and widely published author, she writes on economic development, global health, and geopolitics. She is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.