In this episode of SpreadLove in Organizations, we sit down with Hala Hanna, Executive Director of MIT Solve, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology initiative that identifies and supports social entrepreneurs developing solutions to global challenges. Hala shares her personal journey growing up in Lebanon during wartime, the role of resilience, family, opportunity, and chance in shaping her life, and how those experiences ultimately led her to a career focused on social impact, innovation, and inclusive leadership. Hala explains how MIT Solve identifies, supports, and scales social impact solutions, sharing lessons from more than 600 innovators and the importance of lived experience, human-centered design, technology, partnerships, mentorship, and community. She discusses what separates promising ideas from solutions that achieve meaningful scale, including the role of networks and strategic partnerships in helping entrepreneurs reach millions of people. She also reflects on her experiences across international development and global leadership and what they taught her about creating change in complex organizations and systems. At the heart of the conversation is Hala's philosophy that leadership is an expression of love. She explores how humility, listening, trust, transparency, values alignment, and genuine care for people can create stronger teams and enable greater impact. Naji and Hala connect these ideas to Spread Love in Organizations and discuss a leadership philosophy centered on love, discipline, less noise, and more impact - focusing time and energy on what truly matters, whether that means helping patients, empowering entrepreneurs, or creating meaningful change in organizations and communities. "You’re not what happens to you. You’re what you become out of it." MEET OUR GUEST Hala Hanna, Executive Director, MIT Solve. Hala Hanna is the Executive Director of MIT Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a marketplace for social impact innovation. Solve finds and supports tech-based entrepreneurs from around the globe whose solutions tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges, from climate change and economic prosperity to health equity and education. Solve has selected over 600 innovators, with more than 60% based in the Global South. Their solutions, ranging from Indigenous food sovereignty in North America to global Artificial Intelligence for good, have impacted over 370 million lives worldwide. Solve’s ecosystem of nearly 1,000 partners has mobilized $80 million in funding for these ventures. Prior to MIT Solve, Hala was a member of the Leadership Team at the World Economic Forum, where she was Director of Strategy and Impact. She served as chief of staff to the Managing Director, a former vice-chancellor of Germany, shaping the Forum’s global engagement. In her prior role as Program Lead for the Middle East & North Africa, she curated economic and political discussions at Davos and regional summits, managing relationships with heads of governments and business leaders. During that time, she set up a public-private initiative for employment with the largest business employers in the region based on findings of a study she co-led, training 100,000 youth. The work has since been replicated globally. Hala brings two decades of experience in international development, global leadership, and strategic partnerships. Hala’s earlier career was spent at the World Bank and the United Nations, advising senior officials on public sector reform, aid effectiveness, and donor engagement in countries as diverse as Jamaica, Kuwait, Morocco, Senegal, and Yemen. Her experience spans from post-revolution Tunisia, where she contributed to enhancing private sector investment and tourism competitiveness, to Liberia, where she advised the Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs on aid effectiveness and economic strategy. At the World Bank, she set up a network of Francophone African anticorruption activists. She also co-founded a policy platform that counted over 100 thousand subscribers, offering data-driven content and insights to drive public policy reform in the MENA region. An avid advocate for women in leadership, Hala has held advisory roles with UN Women She Innovates, the UN Global Innovation Coalition for Change, and the Brussels based global network of Women Political Leaders. She has coached women candidates for public office and lectured on gender and policy at universities. Recognized by the Women in Public Service program created by Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton, Hala remains a vocal proponent of gender equity in governance and leadership. Hala holds a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, with a concentration in Political and Economic Development, and a Master in International Development from American University, where she focused on development economics. She is also a graduate of the Global Leadership program at the World Economic Forum, a fast-track executive program with training at leading academic institutions across Paris, London, New York and Beijing. A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Hala regularly addresses global forums on tech for good, climate justice, the future of work, inclusive leadership, and social entrepreneurship, including SXSW, Forbes, World Economic Forum in Davos, UN Women, and more. Her insights and writings have been featured in publications in over 5 languages, including: TechCrunch, Fast Company, Project Syndicate, MIT News, World Economic Forum, Arab Weekly, the Hill, Boston Globe and more. Fluent in English, Arabic, and French with a dash of Spanish, Hala has lived and worked across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Her global perspective, strategic leadership and ability to bridge sectors, drive her commitment to building inclusive, sustainable solutions that improve lives worldwide.
