Narayan Adhikari is a global thought leader, Change entrepreneur, and strategic advisor specializing in nonprofit leadership, open governance, climate resilience, and civic innovation. As the Co-founder and South Asia Representative for Accountability Lab, he has designed globally recognized accountability tools, including Integrity Icon and CivActs, earning the organization the 2018 UN Anti-Corruption Excellence Award. He is also the driving force behind the Open Gov Hub Kathmandu, a facility providing catalytic support to over 100 civic entrepreneurs who leverage civic tech, convening, and narrative building to advance democratic governance.
Deeply involved in high-level diplomacy and systemic state reform, Mr. Adhikari serves on Nepal’s Governance Reform Commission, appointed following the historic Gen-Z protests to align state mechanisms with the aspirations of a new generation. Globally, he served as the 2023 Co-Chair for the C7 (Open and Resilient Society), advising G7 members, and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for RESULTS UK. He also acts as a strategic advisor to the global #ShiftThePower movement and the Climate Tank for Seeds of Peace in South Asia. Bridging on-the-ground impact with high-level academia, Narayan teaches university courses on leadership and shapes governance research design at elite institutions, including Westcliff University USA, the London School of Economics (LSE) and the University of Manchester, bringing a vital Global South practitioner’s perspective. Recognized as one of Business360 Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People to Watch,” he is an Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow, a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader, and a Stanford Business School alumnus. His expert insights on institutional reform are regularly featured in major media outlets such as the BBC, Al-Jazeera, South China Morning Post, Kathmandu Post, Onlinekhabar, and Republica. Narayan graduated from Stanford Business School’s Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders in 2015, attended the International Anti-Corruption Academy, Masters in humanities/social studies from Tribhuvan University, and Bachelors degree in Forestry and Information technology from Kumaun University.
