Shamil Idriss became President and CEO in September 2014. Prior to taking on his role with Search, Shamil was the CEO for Soliya, and served as Executive Director of the Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund which merged with Soliya in 2009. In 2005, he was appointed by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as Deputy Director of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. He served on the Steering Committee of the World Economic Forum's Council of 100 Leaders and is a member of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders and of the ASMA Society's Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow.