Julian Laird

Head of Policy, Development and External Relations

Julian Laird is responsible for the external relations of the School, broadening the impact of our programmes beyond academia, and for the partnerships which sustain and grow our work.

Previously, Julian was Director of Development & Communications for the Global Crop Diversity Trust, based at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. He was a member of the small team which developed the Trust from an initial idea, establishing it as an independent international organization and then raising over $230 million for a work programme across some 80 countries.

Prior to moving to Italy he was Director of Programmes and then Acting Chief Executive of Earthwatch Institute (Europe), with a particular focus on building large-scale partnerships with the private sector and on developing Earthwatch’s African programme. He has an MA in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford, and an MSc from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology.