{"id":14580,"date":"2026-06-20T12:36:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/incoming-director-general-inspired-after-first-visit-to-iita-headquarters\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:24:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:24:33","slug":"incoming-director-general-inspired-after-first-visit-to-iita-headquarters","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/incoming-director-general-inspired-after-first-visit-to-iita-headquarters\/","title":{"rendered":"Incoming Director General inspired after first visit to IITA headquarters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Incoming IITA\u2013CGIAR Director General, Dr Simeon Ehui, said he was impressed by the innovation, passion, and <br>commitment of staff and the state of the Institute after a familiarization visit to the research center\u2019s headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_25761\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25761\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25761\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Incoming-IITA-Director-General-Dr-Simeon-Ehui.jpg\" alt=\"Incoming IITA Director General, Dr Simeon Ehui, toured the Institute, including the SAH facility.\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25761\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Incoming IITA Director General, Dr Simeon Ehui, toured the Institute, including the SAH facility.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following his appointment as the next DG, Dr Ehui embarked on the tour, during which he met with the Institute\u2019s Senior Management Team and directors, including outgoing DG Dr <a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/iita-staff\/sanginga-nteranya\/\">Nteranya Sanginga<\/a>. After an excellent <br>conversation about past activities and the incoming DG\u2019s planned direction, Dr Sanginga declared that \u201cthe future is bright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Ehui toured the Institute\u2019s facilities, meeting the staff of the different directorates and units. He learned about their impactful research and other activities as he sought to \u201cfeel the pulse of the Institute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_25762\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25762\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25762\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Incoming-IITA-Director-General-Dr-Simeon-Ehui.jpg\" alt=\"Dr Ehui stopped over at the Radio IITA studio during his tour of the Ibadan campus.\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25762\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr Ehui stopped over at the Radio IITA studio during his tour of the Ibadan campus.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the stopover at the clinic, Deputy Director General for Corporate Services (DDG-CS), <a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/iita-staff\/koper-hilde\/\">Hilde Koper<\/a>, showed Dr Ehui the latest advancements in medical technology, and he was amazed by the level of innovation being <br>implemented. He was delighted with the attention to staff welfare, which he plans to prioritize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also visited the kitchen, where the chefs demonstrated their unique cooking methods using biogas. He was pleased with this energy-saving initiative, which also reduces the carbon footprint, positively impacting the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Ehui, who will also be the CGIAR\u2019s first Regional Director for Continental Africa, was particularly impressed with the next generation\u2014the children at the IITA International School and the Youth in Agribusiness office, who are <br>championing different youth-focused programs. He applauded the energetic and curious children at the school and the <br>teachers working hard to provide a bright future for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure id=\"attachment_25763\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25763\" style=\"width: 820px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-25763 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/The-3-DGs.jpg\" alt=\"The &quot;3 DGs&quot;\u2014Dr Bernard Vanlauwe (clapping), and Dr Simeon Ehui shaking hands with Dr Nteranya Sanginga\u2014at the townhall meeting with IITA staff.\" width=\"820\" height=\"411\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25763\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The &#8220;3 DGs&#8221;\u2014Dr Bernard Vanlauwe (clapping), and Dr Simeon Ehui shaking hands with Dr Nteranya Sanginga\u2014at the townhall meeting with IITA staff.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the final day of his visit, Dr Ehui met with IITA staff in a historic town hall with three Director Generals attending. Playfully referred to as \u201cThe 3 DGs\u201d, outgoing DG Sanginga, incoming DG Ehui, and Interim DG <a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/iita-staff\/vanlauwe-bernard\/\">Bernard Vanlauwe<\/a> all addressed the staff. They spoke briefly about the excellent foundation and outlook in the short and long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr Ehui was impressed by the innovation, passion, and commitment he saw in everyone he met. He said he was <br>energized and inspired to join a team of dedicated professionals making a positive global impact and was eager to start making a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Contributed by Martin Hope and Folake Oduntan<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Incoming IITA-CGIAR Director General, Dr Simeon Ehui, has expressed his satisfaction with the state of the Institute after a familiarization visit to the research center\u2019s headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":14581,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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