Simon Gimson was appointed as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Interpeace in October 2018. His career has focused on multilateral diplomacy, peacebuilding and organisational management.
Prior to joining Interpeace, Simon was Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of International Crisis Group, after appointments as Chief of Staff and then Political Director at the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Earlier, Simon was a New Zealand diplomat with postings in Papua New Guinea and France, as Permanent Representative to UNESCO, and in London in The Queen’s private office. He began his career managing aid programmes in Pacific small island states.
Simon has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in International Relations, Political Science and Public Administration from Victoria University, Wellington. He is a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order.
Renée Larivière is the Senior Director of Programme Management at Interpeace where she provides strategic leadership and oversight of peacebuilding operations worldwide. She is also responsible for providing strategic leadership and orientation for the organization’s policy making. Operating in the complex environments of fragile societies she has extensive experience in working closely with the different stakeholders that have an interest in building sustainable peace.
Renée came to Interpeace in 2007 with field experience from Peru, Pakistan and Indonesia. While her focus has always been related to supporting fragile societies, her past work has been connected to conflicts relating to natural resources. While in Peru, working for Grupo GEA, Renée was also Visiting Professor at the Post Graduate School of La Molina National University. Renée has also worked for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Renée is Canadian and holds a Masters in Environmental Sciences from the University of Sherbrooke and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Ottawa.
Jean Paul Mugiraneza is the Director of Programme Development and Innovation. He was the Director for Interpeace's Regional Office for Eastern and Central Africa based in Nairobi.
As the Regional Director he was responsible for daily management of the regional office, strategic orientation and ensured achievement of objectives, expected results of the various programs under the regional office in close collaboration with partner organizations on the field. The Regional Office covered programs in Somalia, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and DRC.
Jean Paul, a native of Rwanda, has been educated at the National University of Rwanda (Bachelor of Law) and University of Quebec (Masters in Public Administration), and has worked over a span of eighteen years in public service, governance, peacebuilding and education in the Africa Great Lakes, West-Africa and Europe.
He has served as Executive Secretary of the National Decentralization Implementation Secretariat in Rwanda.
In the Aftermath of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, Jean Paul participated in establishing decentralized institutions of governance and in the debate on how to find solutions for citizens to live together peacefully.
He has been Chairman of the Political Commission in Kigali city Council and has served as Board member in National Commission for the fight against AIDS.
He has served as visiting professor at the Kigali Independent University where he taught Social Law and Constitutional Law.