Directors’ Leadership Team

The Directors’ Leadership Team undertakes the day-to-day operations of the organization and represents the different components of the Secretariat. It includes the Regional Directors.

The Directors’ Leadership Team members have substantial experience in their respective disciplines, applied in the sexual and reproductive health sector. Most have worked for not-for-profit as well as private sector non-governmental organizations. They provide IPPF with a platform of solid, proven leadership skills.

Tewodros Melesse, Director-General

Tewodros Melesse took up the post of IPPF Director-General in September 2011. An economist who studied at the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium, he has over 25 years’ experience in family planning and reproductive health, starting in 1984 as a programme officer with FPIA.

He subsequently joined IPPF Africa Region and gained extensive experience planning, developing, monitoring, and managing large-scale development and reproductive health programmes in Africa. He assumed the directorship of the Africa Regional Office in 2002, and vigorously refocused and restructured the operation. Tewodros brings to the role a profound belief in leadership founded on transparency and vision.

Colin Munro, Director, Operations Division

Colin leads the operations division which includes finance, human resources and office and administrative teams, a position he took up in 2016. This followed his role as Director of Strategic Advice where he co-ordinated and led the process to develop the current Strategic Framework (2016-2022). He was responsible for co-ordination of the Director-General's Office for four years during which he was Acting Director of Programmes for eighteen months.

With an earlier career leading the finance function of IPPF (2001-2008) he has extensive knowledge of the Federation. Prior to IPPF he was Finance Director of the London Business School and a Audit Manager in the not for profit and government division of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). He is a Chartered Accountant.

Owain James, Director of External Relations

Owain James joined IPPF in 2012. He is responsible for leading the Federation’s External Relations areas. This includes advocacy, resource mobilization and communications.

Prior to IPPF Owain was Global Coordinator for the Global Campaign for Education (GCE). He began his career as National President for the National Union of Students (NUS) where he represented three million UK students. He then worked for Oxfam as their Education Campaign Manager and then MDG Campaign Manager. He was involved in the Make Poverty History White Band campaign and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty.

Snježana Bokulić, Director, Performance Division

Snježana Bokulić joined IPPF in 2016. She has considerable experience as an international development executive with a specialization in international human rights. Before IPPF, she was Head of the Human Rights Department in the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). She has worked in the fields of development, human rights and security, for international governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Snježana has developed organizational strategy and policy, along with rigorous programme monitoring and evaluation systems. That has included the implementation of impact-oriented advocacy and capacity building programmes supporting civil society organizations in interventions to strengthen human rights at the national level across Africa, Asia and Europe. Snježana’s academic background includes an LLM in International Human Rights Law, an MA in South East European Studies and a BA in Business and Journalism.

Yilma Melkamu, Director, Programmes Division

Yilma is a Medical Doctor. He joined IPPF in 2009 as Director of Programmes and Technical Support for the Africa Region prior to taking up the position of Director of Programmes in Central Office in 2016. He has over 15 years of programme management experience in family planning, comprehensive abortion care, quality of care, HIV/AIDS, safe motherhood, and social franchising of sexual and reproductive health services.

Before joining IPPF, Dr Melkamu worked for Pathfinder International and Marie Stopes International in Ethiopia. He consulted on public health at the national and international level for the Ministry of Health, United Nations, and several universities. He has been a lecturer at the Addis Ababa University and published extensively in the areas of family planning, maternal and newborn health, comprehensive abortion care, and HIV/AIDS in national and international peer reviewed journals.