Agenda

Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar was appointed Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva in August 2020.

Prior to this mission, she served as Deputy Director-General for Coordination and Policy Planning (2017-2020), and as Israel’s Ambassador to Vietnam between 2012 and July 2017.

Joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1995, Meirav Eilon Shahar has represented Israel in a number of different capacities. Until summer 2012, she directed the Department for United Nations Political Affairs in Jerusalem after returning from New York, where she served as Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations.

Previously, Ms. Eilon Shahar served as Consul for Communications and Public Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles from 2000 to 2002. There, she directed public, media and academic affairs in the southwestern United States. She also served as Second Secretary and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Nairobi, Kenya, between 1997 and 2000. In this capacity, she oversaw all aspects of bilateral relations between Israel and six East African countries.

Born in Ramat Gan, Israel, on 12 September 1969, she served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years, after which she earned a dual degree in Political Science and Cinema & Communications from the Tel Aviv University. In the following years, Ms. Eilon Shahar completed her Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from the Tel Aviv University.

Ms. Eilon Shahar is married with three children.

Ivailo Kalfin joined Eurofound as Executive Director on 1 June 2021. Mr Kalfin’s expertise covers a range of areas, from the dynamics of the labour market and social policy to global political trends, the EU and budget, as well as digital transformation. He has outlined five main priorities for his role at Eurofound: supporting the mainstreaming of Europe's green and digital transitions with the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; complementing the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan with evidence-based research; increased cooperation with international organisations and greater outreach to European Neighbourhood Policy countries; enhancing and expanding the capacity of social partners within the remit of the Agency; raising Eurofound's profile among key stakeholders.

Before taking up the post, he was since 2019 Director of the Economics and International Relations Institute in Sofia, focusing on research related to migration, labour market inclusion and the need for an updated social contract. Prior to this, he served on two occasions as Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister (2005–2009 and 2014–2016), as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs (2005–2009) and Minister of Labour and Social Policy (2014–2016). Between 2009 and 2014, he was Member of the European Parliament, Vice Chair of the Committee on Budgets and rapporteur for the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014–2020. From 2014 to 2017, he was a member of the Monti Group – the High-Level Group on Own Resources. For the next two years, he served as Special Adviser to the EU Commissioner on Budget and Human Resources. Mr Kalfin was elected as a member of the Bulgarian parliament on four occasions.

In his earlier career, he served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Bulgarian National Bank and as Economic Policy Secretary to the President of Bulgaria and was a lecturer in various universities. He also has experience of the business sector. Mr Kalfin holds MSc degrees in International Economic Relations and International Banking, acquired respectively at the UNWE in Sofia and Loughborough University, UK. He has an honorary doctorate from Loughborough University and the University of Ruse, Bulgaria.

Mr Diego Ruiz Proano joined ITU as Chief of the Human Resources Management Department on 1st March 2021.

Diego has more than 20 years’ experience in human resources, finance, information technology and administration in the private and public sector; in international NGOs and in the United Nations common system.  Before being appointed as Chief, HRMD at ITU, he was Deputy Director and Chief of Strategic People Management at the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, in New York. In this role, he managed the business partnering, policy and organizational development functions for a workforce of over 20’000 personnel located in more than 160 countries. Before joining UNDP, he worked for the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, in Switzerland as Global Director for Human Resources.

Diego believes in nurturing a culture built on excellence, trust, client orientation and creativity. He enjoys developing innovative solutions, working in start-up environments and collaborating across disciplines. He brings demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary, diverse and highly decentralized teams, as well as broad experience in conflict management and employee relations.
 
He holds a degree in Economics from the Catholic University of Ecuador and a Masters’ of Science in Computing for Commerce and Industry from the Open University.  He is fluent in Spanish, English and French.