leadingforlife.net

Charles Clayton, Main Speaker

Charles is the National Director of World Vision in Palestine and Israel, where he has served since May 2004. Prior to this he was the Chief Executive of World Vision UK and then Group Chief Executive of Shaftesbury Housing and Care in London.

He holds university degrees in civil engineering (Loughborough, UK) and theology (Philadelphia, USA) with partial completion of doctoral research in ethics (Oxford, UK).

Charles has exercised leadership in a variety of non-profit and commercial contexts with an emphasis on social benefit especially for people who are poor or disadvantaged. He has worked in international relief and development for more than two decades and has visited such programmes on all continents. He has contributed to numerous media and conference events. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, and a past member of the American Management Association, the UK Chartered Management Institute and Management Centre Europe; he has served on a variety of boards in the commercial, non-profit and education sectors.

In leading World Vision’s Jerusalem office, Charles has directed a comprehensive revision of their strategy, senior appointments, advocacy, management processes and programme methodology – with a focus on leadership development. Operating in one of the world’s most sensitive areas, he is regularly called upon to address complex humanitarian and development issues. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Association of International Development Agencies and a board member of the United Nations Humanitarian Emergency Response Fund.

About 380,000 people are current beneficiaries of World Vision’s programmes in the West Bank in Gaza, with an emphasis on food security, economic development, education and the care of children affected by the conflict. Programmes in Israel have included support for children’s education in poorer areas, as well as initiatives in peace, reconciliation, human rights and non-violence.