Prof Skerritt is Chair of the IWMI Board and is experienced in agricultural, environmental and health R&D and R&D managment. He is currently CEO of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the Australian equivalent of USFDA. He was previously Deputy Secretary of the Department of Primary Industries in Victoria, Australia’s largest agricultural exporting state, and had responsibility for 1,200 staff and a $250 m budget covering agriculture, fisheries, farm forestry and biosecurity. He is an adjunct full Professor in agriculture at the University of Queensland and was recognized as one of the 200 most highly cited researchers internationally in agriculture.

He was formerly the Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). He has developing-country experience in research management in over 20 countries in Asia/Pacific/Africa and has also managed long-term projects and delivered training courses in many developing countries.