Integral is pleased to announce that Ian McInnes has been unanimously appointed by the Integral Board to be their new Chairperson, with immediate effect. Ian is Chief Executive of Tearfund New Zealand, a founding Integral Member. Here is our Q&A with him …
Your name and Job title?
Ian McInnes, CEO Tearfund New Zealand.
How long have you been in that role?
Since February 2013.
What did you do before?
The eight years prior was spent in front-line humanitarian, Country Director and Response Manager roles with World Vision, World Concern and Tearfund (UK) where I deployed to Sri Lanka, Haiti, Pakistan, Myanmar, and a number of South Pacific Islands.
You have been on the Integral Board for six years, meeting face-to-face twice a year. What would you say is the main benefit to you of being part of the Board?
The Board serves as a place for relationship-building across agencies and also as a wonderful steering committee, as such, for the broader work of the Alliance. It would be easy to take for granted the linkages we all have in our relief and development work, however, these I believe are the result of a strong foundation at Board level and the willingness to constantly be challenging how we can better deliver on our mission together.
Do you have a most treasured ‘Integral’ memory?
Visiting the Rohingya refugee response in Cox’s Bazaar (Bangladesh) last year and seeing agencies pull together in such a remarkably complex response arena was both a sobering and deeply touching experience. We have tremendous front-line staff who really do make huge sacrifices to serve in such places.
What is your vision for Integral going forward?
Our Alliance faces some significant challenges: constricted budgets, fractious domestic political agendas, record numbers of displaced people, and challenges to our model of disaster response. My vision is that we would, first and foremost, be resolute in our convictions to serve and speak up for those affected by disaster in the face of competing agendas. Also that we would hone our skills in understanding and addressing those challenges, starting with things like the localisation agenda and the competing demands for private and public funds. Our mission has not changed, in fact it is more crucial than ever before. We have between us a remarkable agility and capacity to mobilise local response, and to tell that story in compelling ways that appeal to the head and to the heart, whether that’s to a government policy maker or a committed Christian wanting to serve the poor.
Tell us one thing about yourself we may not know!
I am an identical twin, with a special bond to my brother. Jim pastors in Hong Kong and he slipped into the end of our meetings in the UK unannounced. You may not have noticed!
Please see here for a our press release announcement
