CIMMYT recently made two high-level appointments that complete the Center’s senior management team: Dr. John Dodds as Deputy Director General for Research, and Mr. Martin van Weerdenburg as Director of Corporate Services.

Dr. Dodds holds dual British/US citizenship, while Mr. van Weerdenburg is an Australian national of Dutch descent. Both have held influential positions at other CGIAR centers in the past: Dodds at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the International Potato Center (CIP), and van Weerdenburg at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

An accomplished research director

After announcing Dr. Dodds’ appointment, Dr. Masa Iwanaga, CIMMYT’s Director General, said, “I congratulate John on this important appointment and wish him success in meeting the challenges ahead.”

Dodds was Assistant Director General (Research) at ICARDA until September 2003; from 1983 to 1991, he worked for CIP in Lima, Peru, first as a tissue culture/biotechnology specialist, and then as head of Plant Genetic Resources and leader of the Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization Program. In between working for ICARDA and CIP, he was a professor at Michigan State University’s Department of Horticulture and managing director of the University’s Agricultural Biotechnology for Sustainable Productivity Project. During his last two years at MSU, he was Assistant Director of the Institute of International Agriculture.

If Dodds’ exciting mix of talents and experience are any indication, he should make many valuable contributions to CIMMYT. A holder of a Ph.D. in botany/biochemistry from the University of London, he also has a law degree from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan, USA. He is a member of the District of Colombia Bar Association and of the US Patent and Trademark Office Bar, both in Washington, DC. In 1997, he founded a law firm, Dodds & Associates, which specializes in intellectual property law.

As is evident from the above, Dr. Dodds is a seasoned researcher and research manager with 20 years’ experience–for example, in supervising germplasm collection, maintenance, and utilization; developing and implementing research projects; strategic planning; and establishing collaborative research agreements with advanced research institutions in industrialized countries and national agricultural research programs in the developing world, in the areas of plant biotechnology, biodiversity, and natural resource management.

Dr. Dodds has served on the editorial boards of several international journals. In addition to numerous scientific articles, he has published nine books, including two novels.

“I’m honored to be back in the CGIAR system,” Dr. Dodds commented upon accepting his new position. “I believe CIMMYT has an outstanding vision and research agenda. The challenge facing us now is to implement that vision in an effective manner.”

A widely experienced professional in corporate services

Over the 25 years of his professional career, van Weerdenburg has accumulated extensive experience in administration, finance/accounting, and human resources management both in the private and public sectors. Van Weerdenburg’s initial international experience was gained while working for Coopers and Lybrand, now Pricewaterhouse Coopers, first in Papua New Guinea in 1979 and, later, in the Solomon Islands, where he worked extensively with national companies involved in agricultural plantation development.

In 1984 he became general manager (finance and administration) of Godfrey Hirst Australia Pty Ltd., a major Australian textile manufacturer. From 1992 to 1997, he worked for the government of Vanuatu, initially involved in systems development and capacity building within the department of finance, and then in the office of the ombudsman, where he led several investigations into official corruption and also provided assistance and advice on finance and administration systems appropriate for implementation in public sector organizations.

As mentioned before, van Weerdenburg was Director of Finance and Administration at IFPRI from 1997 to 2001, where he was responsible for managing the Finance, Human Resources, Computer Services, and Facilities Units. As a member of the Senior Management Team, he was involved in policy setting, strategic planning, and in determining long-term research priorities for the Institute.

In 2002, he became the Business Development Manager of Brisbane City Enterprises, Ltd., the commercial arm of the Brisbane City Council, where he picked up experience in several areas of relevance to his position at CIMMYT: identifying and negotiating strategic or project specific alliances with appropriate partners, and building relationships with key decision makers within international aid funding agencies.

The wide range of professional tasks he has undertaken makes van Weerdenburg uniquely qualified for the position he now occupies at CIMMYT. “I’m particularly pleased to be working once again for an international organization,” he said, “and I hope I can contribute to making CIMMYT’s transition to a more modern and flexible institution as smooth as possible.”

Van Weerdenburg’s position is of critical importance to CIMMYT, especially at this time, when the Center’s new Strategic Plan is being implemented. “The considerable structural changes and adjustments that are required to implement our new Strategic Plan require having an expert on board,” commented Iwanaga. “Martin was involved in a similar transition at IFPRI, which gives us great confidence that he’ll do an excellent job for us, too.”

Van Weerdenburg holds a degree in commerce (honors) from Newcastle University, as well as graduate certificates in management (finance) and economics from the University of Southern Queensland.