Hans van Poelvoorde MSc, has been elected President of the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) following the retirement of Dennis Geist after seven years as President and ten years on the Board of Directors.

The XLVII General Assembly meeting of CDF took place at the Charles Darwin Research Station from the 11th until the 13th of November 2018, in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Hans van Poelvoorde was elected by the Board of Directors in their first meeting.

Hans van Poelvoorde served as Vice-President of the CDF for the past four years. He will take over the activities and responsibilities of Dr. Geist and continue to work along the Executive Director and his team to achieve our strategic goals in two key areas: long-term financial sustainability and strengthening of the scientific mission of the organization.

The new President Hans van Poelvoorde had these remarks, “Taking over this position from Dr. Geist is a huge honor and at the same time a big responsibility. Next to working on fundraising I am looking forward very much to working together with Dr. Arturo Izurieta and the whole team towards a successful celebration of our upcoming 60th anniversary in support of achieving our goals.’’

Commented Dr. Geist: “I will continue working with the Charles Darwin Foundation, as devoted as I ever have been, but now I am going to work more directly with fundraising efforts together with the Chief Development Officer of the CDF based in the United States and anywhere the Executive Director or the new President Hans van Poelvoorde needs me for help.”

The members of the General Assembly of the Charles Darwin Foundation and current Board thanked Dr. Geist for his dedicated years of service and commitment for the conservation of Galapagos.