Secretary General Appoints Michelle Gyles McDonnough of Jamaica Executive Director of United Nations Institute for Training and Research

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Michelle Gyles-McDonnough of Jamaica as Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). She will succeed Nikhil Seth of India, to whom the Secretary-General expressed his utmost gratitude for his dedication and commitment to the United Nations.

With more than 30 years' experience in sustainable development, policy advocacy, international trade and international relations, and change management in complex bureaucracies, Ms. Gyles-McDonnough has held multiple leadership roles within the United Nations system and in the field. She brings a wealth of experience in managing diverse portfolios in the economic, social and environmental fields that impact the Sustainable Development Goals. She has led work in transforming international organizations and cross-cultural teams, resulting in new and agile ways of working, strengthened capacities, and innovative development solutions for governments and key partners.

Ms. Gyles-McDonnough is currently the Director, Sustainable Development Unit, Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General in New York (since 2017). Throughout her career with the United Nations, she has served in leadership and senior advisory roles as Chief of the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) subregional policy advisory facility for the Caribbean (1999-2004); Coordinator of the Grenada Recovery Programme (2004-2005) following a hurricane destruction estimated at the equivalent of 212 per cent of the country's annual gross domestic product (GDP); Caribbean Regional Adviser, UNDP (2005); Programme Adviser, UNDP Executive Office/Operations Support Group (2006-2008); United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Barbados and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) (2008-2013); and UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam (2013-2016).

Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Gyles-McDonnough practiced privately as an international trade lawyer; served as Legal Adviser to the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, D.C.; Adviser to the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) on international trade; and teaching assistant at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Ms. Gyles-McDonnough holds a law degree from Columbia University School of Law, with honours in international and foreign law; a master in public administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; and a diploma in executive education from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her undergraduate degree in economics, with a minor in French, at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, United States. She is fluent in English with a working knowledge of French and Spanish.