The international development organisation VSO announced the appointment today of Dr Philip Goodwin as chief executive.

Goodwin is currently chief executive of Tree Aid, an international development organisation which uses trees to tackle poverty and environmental issues in dryland Africa. He previously spent 11 years with the British Council where he worked in Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan and Belgium.

He has a PhD and MSc in environmental policy and co-authored the book From hippos to gazelles: How leaders create leaders, which is based on his experience of leading organisational change.

He succeeds Marg Mayne who left in July.  The post has been looked after on an interim basis by Jim Emerson. Goodwin will start in March.

Mari Simonen, chair of VSO International, said: “VSO is delighted to have secured the talents of an experienced development expert such as Philip to lead us. Philip has significant experience of overseeing quality programmes, leading high performing teams and working in complex funding environments – the skills we were looking for in our new chief executive.”

Goodwin said: “I’m extremely honoured to take on the role of chief executive at VSO. VSO is a highly respected organisation in the international development world with a long history of mobilising knowledge and unlocking potential to deliver transformational change around the world.  I am looking forward to working with the global VSO team and its partners to help deliver its vision of a world free of poverty."