Robin Hodess appointed Interim Internal Managing Director of Transparency International

Transparency International is pleased to announce the appointment of Robin Hodess as Interim Internal Managing Director of the International Secretariat, based in Berlin, Germany.

Robin Hodess joined Transparency International in 2000 to establish the Global Corruption Report. She was made Policy and Research Director in 2004, and in January 2010 became Group Director for Research and Knowledge. Hodess previously worked for the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs and the Center for War, Peace and the News Media at New York University, and taught at the Free University Berlin and Leipzig University. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil in international relations from Cambridge University and a B.A. in history from the University of Pennsylvania.

Cobus de Swardt, until now External Managing Director, has agreed, together with the Board of Directors, to a new role as Special Representative of Transparency International.

In his new role, Cobus de Swardt will represent the Transparency International movement, provide strategic advice and assistance focusing on relationships with donors, NGO partners, inter-governmental organisations and initiatives, and the media.

“We want to thank Cobus for his dedication to Transparency International for over ten years. We are grateful that he has decided to stay on to help us in the fight against corruption. Under his leadership, the Secretariat has increased its impact, funding and global relevance,” said José Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International.

“I am fully committed to Transparency International, the movement that I have worked with for more than a decade. I am very much looking forward to continue working for, and supporting, the international work of the Transparency International movement over the next couple of years,” said Cobus de Swardt.

Elena Panfilova, Vice Chair of the Transparency International Board of Directors, has decided to step down from the Board. She will remain the Chair of the Center for Anti-corruption Research and Initiative Transparency International, the movement’s Russian chapter.

“We want to thank Elena for having contributed her insights, courage, experience and energy to the global fight against corruption and the Board for the past five years. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with her,” said Ugaz.

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