By Scott Weber, President of Interpeace

The rapidly changing circumstances of our world demand that organizations such as ours reflect critically on our place in it. How can we enhance our relevance and effectiveness, while improving our efficiency? How can we increase our impact and continuously innovate to build and sustain a more lasting peace?

As we approach the 25^th anniversary since of our founding, Interpeace is implementing an agenda of institutional changes we call “Ready@25.” They are designed to put us on a more agile footing to meet the needs of today – and respond to those of tomorrow.

One of the key pieces has now been put in place. I am delighted to announce that Simon Gimson has joined Interpeace in the newly-created capacity of Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer.

Simon brings with him a deep level of experience in international affairs, including more than two decades spent as a diplomat with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade, time spent in London as part of the Household of Queen Elizabeth II, and positions first as the Chief of Staff and later as Political Director at the Commonwealth Secretariat. He was most recently the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of International Crisis Group in Brussels.

This experience will be vital as Simon takes on a key role in managing Interpeace’s day-to-day operations, working to optimize our performance and translate our strategic orientations into action. He will head up our newly-configured Global Management Team, which also includes the following senior staff:

• Renée Lariviere, Senior Director of Programme Management
• Almudena Bartayres, Senior Director of Global Operations / Chief Financial Officer
• Jean Paul Mugiraneza, Director of Programme Development and Innovation
• Daniel Hyslop, Director of Policy and IPAT
• Alexandre Munafò, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Communications

I look forward to working with Simon and the GMT in my new role as President of Interpeace. I will concentrate my efforts on Interpeace’s strategy for growth and impact, the development of new institutional partnerships, bringing our messages to wider audiences and on mobilizing the support our teams need to succeed. I am thrilled to be assuming these new and exciting responsibilities.

Of course, none of the impact we deliver would be possible without our dedicated local teams, partner organizations and our donors, whose commitment and energy are the engine of our work around the world. With these qualities ever-present, and the right institutional structure falling into place, I am fully confident that Interpeace will indeed be “Ready@25”.

Geneva, 15 November, 2018