John Machin

John Machin spent over 35 years in the fields of development corporation and international affairs, mostly in the UK’s Department for International Development (DIFID). In the early 1980s he was appointed Director of the Asian Development Bank in Manila, representing the Governments of Austria, Germany and the UK on the Bank’s Executive Board.

Back in DFID, his responsibilities included Press Secretary to the Minister, Head of Information and Emergency Aid and Head of UN Affairs. John was also closely involved in the management of a major change process in DIFID and particularly in the development of new training and learning strategies for the Department.

In 1998 then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed John as Director of the UN Staff College Project, then becoming the first Director of the UN System Staff College when it came into being in 2002.