Our Leaders
Our leaders at Rotary exemplify all of the qualities that make our members extraordinary: integrity, expertise, and a commitment to service.
Rotary is led by a diverse international team of top executives. Whether developing Rotary policy, providing financial support, managing a global staff, or advancing Rotary’s strategic plan, each member of the team is dedicated to helping our members connect and take action to create sustainable change.
Read the latest Board decisions and minutes
Read the latest Trustee decisions and minutes
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President
Rotary’s president presides over the Board of Directors and is elected to a one-year term.
Meet our president
R. Gordon R. McInally is president of Rotary International. He was educated at the Royal High School in Edinburgh and at the University of Dundee, where he earned his graduate degree in dental surgery. He operated his own dental practice in Edinburgh until 2016. Gordon was chair of the East of Scotland branch of the British Paedodontic Society and has held various academic positions. He has also served as a presbytery elder, chair of the Queensferry parish congregational board, and commissioner to the general assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Read the president's biography.
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Trustee chair
The trustee chair is elected by the Board of Trustees and leads The Rotary Foundation for one year.
Meet our trustee chair
Barry Rassin is a director and former president of Doctors Hospital Health System in Nassau, Bahamas, where he retired after a 38-year career. He was the first fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives in the Bahamas and was honored with the National Award of Health Hero by the Bahamas Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization.
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General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer
Rotary’s general secretary and executive team oversee a staff of more than 800, who serve Rotary members from our world headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and seven international offices. The general secretary is a member of the Rotary International Board of Directors and The Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees.
Meet our General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer
John Hewko has served as Rotary International’s general secretary and chief executive officer since 2011. A charter member of the Rotary Club of Kyiv, Ukraine, Hewko lives out Rotary’s mission, whether inside or outside the office. He’s immunized children against polio in India, represented Rotary at the World Economic Forum, and bicycled 104 miles (167 km) with Rotary members in Arizona, USA, to help raise over $50 million for polio eradication. "It’s an honor to go the extra mile in serving this great organization. I see Rotary as the original social network formed to exchange ideas and resources so we can transform lives. We’re a bold NGO that believed it could end a disease, and we’ve stuck to the cause for over three decades. That thought inspires me every morning."
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See the Rotary International Committees and Rotary Foundation Committees.
Executive staff
The executive staff manages operations, including member services and programs, finance, technology, development, communications, strategy, and legal services, at our world headquarters in Evanston and offices in New Delhi, Norwest (Sydney), Pune, São Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo, and Zurich.
Read biographies of the executive staff
Meet our senior management team
Meet our international offices management team
Directors
The Board of Directors establishes Rotary International’s policies and provides guidance that helps our clubs thrive. Clubs elect the directors every year at Rotary’s international convention, and each director serves for two years.
Board of Directors meeting dates
Trustees
The Board of Trustees manages the business of The Rotary Foundation, the charitable arm of our organization. The Rotary International president-elect nominates the trustees, and the Board of Directors elects them to four-year terms.
Regional leaders
Regional Rotary Foundation coordinators, Rotary coordinators, Rotary public image coordinators, endowment/major gifts advisers, and End Polio Now coordinators connect Rotary members with the resources and assistance they need to succeed. Regional leaders are appointed by the Rotary International president-elect or Rotary Foundation trustee chair-elect.