Philip Winder

Philip Winder joined the Refugees International board in 2024. He currently serves as CEO of Polygon Investment Management, a private fund management firm, which he founded in 2002. Previously, he led the Middle East team at Schroder Investment Management, where he oversaw in excess of $3 billion of client assets. He also serves as a Senior Advisor with ASG’s Middle East & North Africa practice, providing strategic advice to clients throughout the region by drawing on his expertise in finance and investment management. 

Previously, Mr. Winder served as Head of Global Sales and Marketing for Credit Suisse Asset Management and led business development in Europe and the Middle East at Bankers Trust Investment Management in London. Earlier in his career, he worked for National Commercial Bank and Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., and he served as an economist in the Foreign Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of NY for six years, focusing on energy, the Middle East, and central bank relations.

Mr. Winder serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Investment Committee of the American University of Beirut. He is also a member of Renaissance, serves on the Board of Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, and is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee. Additionally, he is a founder and former director of Zawya, an online business intelligence platform focused on the Middle East and North Africa. 

He earned an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a B.A. from Haverford College. Mr. Winder speaks French and conversational Arabic.