Dr. Simon Missiri joined the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in 1987 as a Field Delegate in Sudan, and has since served in a variety of management functions including Desk Officer for Africa; Deputy Director and later Director of Asia & Pacific Region; Director of Preparedness and Response Department; Director of Resource Mobilisation; Chief of Staff of the Under-Secretary General, Programmes; and Head of South Asia Regional Representation.

His duty as Regional Director, Europe, between 2015 and 2019, comprised of setting the strategic direction of the IFRC Regional Office for Europe in Budapest and several sub-regional and Country Offices in providing IFRC support and policy work with National Red Cross Red Crescent Societies in the 54 countries covered by the Europe Region.

Dr. Simon Missiri, appointed as the Special Advisor to the IFRC Secretary General, joined the IFRC Africa Region as the Regional Director on 4 July 2019. As a senior international manager, he has led multi-functional, geographically disbursed and cross-cultural teams.

Dr. Missiri currently acts as the IFRC Director Global Humanitarian Services and Supply Chain since October 2019.

In course of his work with IFRC spanning over 30 years, Dr. Missiri has facilitated high-level negotiations on humanitarian and international affairs with governments, international organizations, and with the corporate sector. He has an extensive network of top-level professionals from Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN Specialized Agencies.

Dr. Missiri holds a Ph.D. in Economics (Russian Academy of Science); Executive MBA in Management (McGill University, Canada, and INSEAD, France); and a Masters in Economic Geography (Moscow State University).