Fabrice Houdart spent two decades working for the UN/World Bank system. From 2001-2016, Fabrice was Senior Country Officer at the World Bank where he authored economic development analyses on Yemen, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Tunisia and provided contributions to the 2012 Gender World Development Report (WDR) and the 2011 Conflict, Security, and Development WDR. As a Human Rights Officer at the United Nations in New York (2016-2020), he worked on Free & Equal, a groundbreaking United Nations campaign for LGBTQ+ equality. He co-authored and led the United Nations Global LGBTQ+ standards of conduct for Business, the largest corporate social responsibility initiative on LGBTQ+ issues in the World. In addition to running FH Consulting, he is the founder and Executive Director of the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors, a Director at OutPerform LGBT invest, an LGBTQ+ impact investing fund. He is a member of L’Oreal Global Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board. He is an advisor of the National Association of Corporate Directors Center for Inclusive Governance and serves on the Editorial Board of the Women’s Forum. He holds a B.A. in economics and management from Dauphine University in Paris and an MBA from American University in DC.
Fabrice volunteers on the Boards of Outright Action International, Housing Works, Foundation Emergence (Governor) and the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (Treasurer).
The US National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) listed him among the 100 most influential governance experts in 2021. He is one of the 10 2022 LinkedIn Top LGBTQIA+ Voices. In 2019, Fabrice received the Golden Gate Business Association Award, the IGLTA Pioneer Award and the Alan Turing LGTBIQ Award for his work on LGBTI rights. He was ranked 2nd by Yahoo Finance among LGBTI public sector executives globally in their 2019 Outstanding list, and listed among Crain’s Notable LGBTQ Leaders and Executives in 2020 and 2021, and among the 100 LGBTQ+ trailblazers by London-based Attitude magazine in 2021. He has been interviewed by The Economist and Al Jazeera, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Foreign Policy Magazine and The Guardian on issues pertaining to human rights of LGBTQ+ people and the business and economic case for LGBTQ+ equality.
Fabrice serves as an expert witness for the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the issue of corporate boards diversity. He is also an advisor to Open for Business and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University.
Fabrice is a Stonewall Rebel through his engagement with the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, set to open its door in June 2024. His Substack newsletter, which covers news at the intersection of Global LGBTQ+ rights and business, is read by 12,000 subscribers globally.
He lives in New York City with his twin sons, 10-year-old Maxime and Eitan.