Secretary-General Appoints Andrea Cook of United Kingdom Executive Director, United Nations Sustainable Development Group System-Wide Evaluation Office

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Andrea Cook of the United Kingdom as the first Executive Director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group System-Wide Evaluation Office.  The Secretary-General wishes to extend his appreciation to Matthew Varghese, who served as Acting Executive Director.

Ms. Cook brings to this position 30 years of experience in development, humanitarian assistance and evaluation, including roles in the United Nations and the United Kingdom Government.

She served as Director of Evaluation for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome from 2017 to 2023 and as Director, Evaluation Office at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in New York from 2014 to 2017.  Before joining the United Nations, Ms. Cook worked in Cambodia, the Caribbean, India, Kenya, Malawi and the United Kingdom.  From 1993-2013, she held a variety of positions spanning policy, programmes and evaluation with the United Kingdom Department for International Development.  She has also served on expert advisory groups and scientific panels for evaluation and research initiatives at global level.

Ms. Cook holds a master’s degree in environmental planning from the University of Nottingham and a bachelor’s (honours) degree in geography from Sheffield Hallam University, both in the United Kingdom. She is fluent in English and French, with working knowledge of Spanish.