As Sy is a Senegalese humanitarian aid expert who was secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) from 2014 to 2019.

Before taking up a senior position at the IFRC, As Sy was Director of Partnerships and Resource Development at UNICEF in New York. He was also UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa and Global Emergency Coordinator for the Horn of Africa.

Mr. Sy has held senior positions at the United Nations Development Program in New York, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and UNAIDS.

Before joining the United Nations, he was Director of Health and Development Programs at Environment and Development Action in the Third World in Dakar, Senegal.

As Sy holds a BA in Arts and Humanities from the University of Dakar. He then went on to study for a master's degree in arts and germanistik at the University of Graz, and graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. He also obtained a post-graduate diploma in education from the École normale supérieure in Dakar. He speaks English, French and German.