Carl Skau

Biography

Carl Skau is the Acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to serve as interim head of WFP until the designation of its next Executive Director. Since May 2023, Mr. Skau has served as WFP’s Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, leading the organization’s overall coordination, strategic direction, humanitarian diplomacy, and support or field operations. In this capacity he also oversees partnerships, management, and governance across the organization, and heads corporate efforts to maximize WFP’s inter-agency collaboration. He continues in this role while serving as Acting Executive Director. Mr. Skau has over 25 years of experience working in diplomacy, humanitarian affairs, peace-building and development across different regions and organizations. He is a recognized and experienced leader with a track record in forging strong bilateral and multilateral partnerships, mobilizing resources, advancing international negotiations and leading and motivating empowered and diverse teams. Prior to joining WFP in 2023, Mr. Skau headed Multilateral Partnerships at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs leading the response to humanitarian crises across the globe, including the COVID-19 pandemic. He led the Swedish campaign for Security Council membership, and was Ambassador and Alternate Permanent Representative to the United Nations during Sweden’s two-year term on the Security Council. His previous positions have included Deputy Representative to the European Union Political and Security Committee in Brussels and Deputy Head of the European Union Mission in Zimbabwe, in addition to postings for the Swedish Foreign Service and the UN in Latin America. He began his career with UNHCR and UNDP. Mr. Skau, a Swedish national, holds a bachelor’s degree in social science, and a master’s degree in political science from Lund University. He is fluent in English and Spanish. He is married with three children.