New WONCA CEO

All WONCA Member Organisations

6^th January 2020 

NEW WONCA CEO APPOINTED

Dear colleagues, 

The WONCA Executive Committee is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Harris Lygidakis as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding Dr Garth Manning. 

Harris holds a medical degree from the University of Bologna and obtained a postgraduate diploma on alcohol-related pathologies from the University of Florence. He qualified as a family doctor in the Region of Emilia-Romagna in 2010, where he worked as a locum until 2016. During that period, he also co-founded two digital health startup companies, and received coaching from the regional business incubator. 

In 2009, he joined the WONCA regional network for trainees and junior family doctors, the Vasco da Gama Movement, where he was elected to the position of Chair in 2012 and acted as the network’s observer to the Executive Board of WONCA Europe. He co-led the establishment of its first regional conference and built strong links with other networks and member organizations. Between 2015 and 2019 he acted as the Honorary Secretary of WONCA Europe, where he co-developed the new communication strategy, assisted in lobbying for family medicine, and supported the regional conference committee. 

Presently he is completing the last year of his PhD at the Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences of the University of Luxembourg, participating in the development of an integrated mobile-health and community-health-worker program in nine areas in Rwanda.

So, I hope you feel you can contribute in these ways. Please send this letter round to all leaders in your Member Organization and the members themselves as you wish, and I look forward to hearing from as many of you as possible. I also hope you will contact your regional Presidents for advice and to give us ideas. As members of the WONCA Executive, we have a monthly teleconference and will have our next face to face meeting in May.

Harris will be transitioning into his new role beginning November 2020 and will work closely with Dr Manning to ensure continuity.

We wish him every success.

Dr Donald Li
WONCA President

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