IWF appoints Kerry Smith as new CEO

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has announced the appointment of Kerry Smith as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Ms Smith, who is currently CEO at Human Rights charity, the Helen Bamber Foundation, takes over from Interim CEO Derek Ray-Hill, and will be in post in June.
 
She joins the IWF at an important moment, with the organisation poised to play an ever more important role in bringing together the tech industry, law enforcement, and Governments the world over to help bring about real positive change for child safety. 
 
Ms Smith said: “I am so pleased to be joining the IWF at this crucial moment. It’s a real global authority and has a powerful role to play convening conversations which will have an enormous impact on the way the world protects children and prevents abuse and working with its members to deliver change.
 
“The reality is, the online arena is where so much harm is being done, and children are particularly vulnerable. There is a universal agreement that we must stop the spiral of child sexual abuse. No one can be ambivalent about this issue, and the IWF is at the heart of the response.
 
“I am looking forward to working with everyone, in every sector, and reminding anyone who can help that we all have responsibility for this together.”
 
Catherine Brown, Chair of the IWF, paid tribute to Mr Ray-Hill, who will stay on at the IWF until August to ensure a smooth transition. 

Ms Brown said: “I am excited to announce Kerry as our new CEO. This is a real global moment of change, and I know the energy and experience she brings will be pivotal in seizing the opportunity to make a safer, better internet for children.  
 
“Governments, businesses, both large and small, police and law enforcement - everyone has their role to play, and the IWF, with its world-leading expertise, is poised and ready to help them all. This is an important moment in the fight against online child sexual abuse, and the IWF is committed to playing our part in that fight.
 
“We have been very fortunate to have had Derek at the helm over this period of transition, and I am grateful for his insight and leadership which has kept the IWF at the heart of the international push for better online safety.” 

Mr Ray-Hill, who has led the IWF as Interim CEO since September last year, said: “It has been such an honour leading the IWF through these last few months.  I am delighted to handover to Kerry and I know this is the start of another, even more exciting chapter in the IWF’s history.
 
“Seeing the passion with which the IWF pursues its task – and the excellence and expertise it rightly prides itself on – has been incredibly inspiring. Through our work, an internet where children can learn, play, and socialise in safety is within reach.”
 
As Chief Executive Officer at the Helen Bamber Foundation, Ms Smith has overseen support for survivors of trafficking and torture who are also refugees and asylum seekers
 
Previously, she has worked as Head of Girls’ Rights and Youth at Plan International, and was also a Senior Conflict and Fragile States Adviser at international NGO Save the Children.
 
A seasoned human rights lawyer with a Master’s Degree in International Human Rights Law, Ms Smith has also been a gender adviser to Amnesty International, and spent time as Head of Office at the International Committee of the Red Cross where she honed her diplomatic skills in Ethiopia and Colombia. 
 
Ms Smith said the problem of online child sexual abuse, and the devastation it causes to children and their families, cannot be seen in isolation, and that the answer must involve different sectors and agencies working together. 
 
“Preventing more, and worse abuse is key, and the IWF is going to be absolutely integral to this.”