Board of Trustees | World Obesity Federation

Board of Trustees

The Charity’s current Board of Trustees is comprised of 15 members who are jointly responsible for the strategic direction and policies of the charity as delegated by the General Council. The Board of Trustees normally meets four times each year. The current membership is shown in the table below.​

The members of the Board of Trustees are also trustees of the charity for the purpose of charity law, and are Directors of the limited company. Under the Articles of Association, the President and President-Elect, as well as the Treasurer, are elected by the General Council and serve for a term of two years in each position. The Vice-Presidents for each region are elected by their respective regional bodies. Chairs (or Co-Chairs) of all Standing Committees are also members of the Board of Trustees.

Our Board of Trustees 

President Dr Simón Barquera
President-Elect

Dr Bruno Halpern

Past President

Prof. Louise Baur

Treasurer Prof. Jason Halford
Vice President Latin America (FLASO)

Dr Bruno Halpern

President Asia Oceania (AOASO) Prof. Kyoung-Kon Leonard Kim
President Europe (EASO) Prof. Volkan Yumuk
Past President North America (TOS) Dr Elizabeth Parks
Chair: International Scientific Committee Prof. Karine Clément
Chair: Clinical Care Committee Dr Ada Cuevas
Chair: Policy & Prevention Committee Prof. Kent Buse
Chair: Publications Committee Prof. Nick Finer
At-Large Member TBC

Person with lived experience

Ogweno Stephen
Person with lived experience Amber Huett-Garcia
CEO: World Obesity Federation - Secretary to the Board (non-board member) Johanna Ralston


Past governance

Year President President-Elect Secretary Treasurer
1986-1990

Barbara Hansen

Bernard Jeanrenaud

Stephan Rossner

George Bray

1990-1994

Bernard Jeanrenaud

George Bray

Arne Astrup

Stephan Rossner

1994-1998

George Bray

Stephan Rossner

Arne Astrup

David York

1998-2002

Stephan Rossner

Claude Bouchard

Arne Astrup

David York

2002-2006

Claude Bouchard

Arne Astrup

Tessa Van der Merwe

David York

2006-2009

Arne Astrup

Philip James

Tessa Van der Merwe

David York

2009-2014

Philip James

Walmir Coutinho

Ismail Noor

David York

2014-2016

Walmir Coutinho

Ian Caterson

N/A

Ian MacDonald

2016-2018

Ian Caterson

Donna Ryan Christine Trimmer Ian MacDonald
2018-2020

Donna Ryan

John Wilding Johanna Ralston Ian MacDonald
2020-2022

John Wilding

Louise Baur Johanna Ralston Caroline Apovian
2022-2024

Louise Baur

Simone Barquera Johanna Ralston Caroline Apovian
2024-2026 Simon Barquera Bruno Halpern Johanna Ralston Jason Halford

Our history

Find out more about our hsitory, including past governance, on our history page. 

Our history