Please join us in extending a very warm welcome to our new Global CEO, Dr. Andrew Catford.
Since joining Hagar in June, Andrew has been spending time in the field with our program staff, meeting survivors and seeing first-hand the powerful healing impact Hagar’s work is having on so many people’s lives.
“The longer I’ve been in this role, the more I realize what passionate and motivated staff, Board members and partners we have,” says Andrew.
With over 20 years’ experience in international development in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, South America and the Middle East, Andrew brings a wealth of insight and expertise to Hagar.
In nearly 13 years at World Vision, Andrew worked in a range of senior roles, including Country Director in Senegal and in the Solomon Islands. He was a Board member of the Solomon Islands Development Services Exchange and Board Chair of the microfinance institution Vision Fund.
Andrew holds a PhD focused on effective community development approaches in Vietnam and he has also lectured at RMIT University in Melbourne in project design, monitoring, evaluation and gender – subjects he’s passionate about.
After many years based overseas, Andrew says he, his wife Louisa and their three children are enjoying their new life in Melbourne, where he’s working from the same Abbotsford Convent office as Hagar Australia. After having spent their young lives in West Africa and the Pacific, Andrew says his children are loving the novelty of having footpaths and a regular supply of water, as well as the finer delights of sausage rolls!
We’re thrilled to have Andrew and his family join the Hagar family.