IUCN’s headquarters are in Gland, near Geneva, Switzerland, and we have regional, outpost, country and project offices around the world. In addition to contributing knowledge, convening and capacity-building work, the Secretariat manages projects worldwide and coordinates support services to Members and Commissions.

Leadership

Accountable to the IUCN Council, the Secretariat is led by our Director General and the deputy directors general.  

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Dr Grethel Aguilar

Director General - Dr Grethel Aguilar, born in Costa Rica, assumed office as Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in October 2023.

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Mark Salway

Chief Operations Officer
Mark Salway brings with him over twenty-five years’ experience as a Managing Director and Senior Leader to IUCN. He is a Chartered Accountant and impact practitioner, with a wide range of skills across Strategy, Change, Finance, Impact, Fundraising, IT, Legal and working with the corporate sector and major donors.

Chief Operations Officer
Mark Salway brings with him over twenty-five years’ experience as a Managing Director and Senior Leader to IUCN. He is a Chartered Accountant and impact practitioner, with a ...

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Stewart Maginnis

Deputy Director General - Programme 
Stewart Maginnis has worked in sustainable development and biodiversity conservation for 35 years. He has lived for extensive periods in Tanzania, Sudan, Ghana 

Deputy Director General - Programme 
Stewart Maginnis has worked in sustainable development and biodiversity conservation for 35 years. He has lived for extensive periods in Tanzania, Sudan, Ghana 

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IUCN’s Centres

The Secretariat includes five Centres, one reports to the Director General and four led by our Deputy Director General – Programme. Three Centres reflect the pillars of sustainable development: environmental sustainability, economic feasibility and social equity. These are reinforced by Centres that focus on science and data, and international policy.

Regional offices

IUCN has eleven operational regions which implement IUCN’s Programme in their respective territories. Each operational region is led by a director who reports to the Director General via the Deputy Director General - Regional and Outposted Offices.

Corporate services

Under the leadership of our Deputy Director General - Corporate Services, our teams are responsible for constituency support, strategic partnerships and donor relations, communications, human resources, legal, finance, global convenings and events, and knowledge and information management.