(He/him) 2025

David’s professional journey spans more than three decades in international development, humanitarian operations, and organisational leadership.

He began as a VSO volunteer in Thailand, working with the Department of Agricultural Extension to support rural silkworm farmers. This hands-on experience sparked David’s passion for community development and sustainable livelihoods. Throughout his career, David has combined field operations management with strategic leadership, capacity building, and partnership development with governments, donors, and NGOs.

After graduating with a Master’s degree in Agronomy from the University of Nottingham in 1996, David spent the next seven years working in the agriculture/food security sector for a number of international NGOs (Cambodia, North Korea, Montenegro, Afghanistan) before moving his career into the humanitarian mine action sector as the Country Director for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in Iraq immediately after the end of the Gulf War in 2003 and in Lebanon after the cessation of hostilities in 2006.

Later, as MAG’s Head of Operations for Europe, Middle East and Asia, David led MAG’s expansion into new countries, including Gaza. In 2013 after 10 years with MAG, David left his role as MAG’s Country Director in Laos to join UNDP Cambodia as the Mine Action Advisor to the Cambodian Mine Action Authority.

In 2016, David returned to the United Kingdom to care for his terminally ill mother whilst also developing and leading a new global maternal and newborn health programme for the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM).

After 5 successful years at LSTM, David then became the Chief Executive Officer of Deafness Support Network (DSN), a charity working to support people with sensory impairments, where David had been Chair of the Board of Trustees, gaining a real understanding of disability issues in the United Kingdom and advocating for social justice and equal rights for people who are deaf and deaf/blind. His role with DSN was a personal decision as David was born profoundly deaf and visually impaired and uses his lipreading skills alongside his hearing aids. His disabilities were not diagnosed until he was 4 years old and, having spent over a year learning how to talk, he was admitted into the UK’s mainstream school system rather than having to go to a school for the deaf. 

In 2025, David joined the World Food Programme in Ukraine as a Project Coordinator (Mine Action). In partnership with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the project addresses the severe consequences of the war on food security, focusing on mine action to remove the threats of mines and unexploded ordnance to small-scale farms and agricultural plots belonging to farming households in conflict-affected areas and supporting the restoration of their livelihoods.

In February 2026, David will be taking over the role of Regional Programme Manager-East for the Swiss mine action NGO, Fondation suisse de déminage (FSD), managing over 500 staff who are working to clear the land from mines and unexploded ordnance in Ukraine.

David and his wife, Pathoummy, met in Laos and have two children, Sophia aged 10 and Daniel aged 9. He and his family are keen football fans but David is the only Liverpool supporter in his family (who all support Manchester United!).

“My disabilities continue to present challenges, but I work hard every day to overcome them. I have been fortunate to receive strong support from my family, friends, colleagues, and, crucially, support from my teachers that enabled me to succeed in mainstream education and ultimately being able to attend university. Despite these barriers, I have been given opportunities that allowed me to build a fulfilling career, working with diverse communities, organisations, and governments to save lives and build the futures of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.”