A team of deminers use metal detectors in a field in Nagorno Karabakh

Our People

Since our small beginnings over 35 years ago, the HALO family has grown to employ over 9,000 staff around the world.

In the countries where we work, we become part of the local community, training and employing men and women from the communities we serve. We create jobs in places where opportunities are often scarce and our local staff make up 95% of our total workforce. Find out more about where we work.

Our headquarters are in the beautiful Scottish hills of Dumfries and Galloway. We also have offices in Salisbury, UK, and across the Atlantic in Washington DC.

"HALO is committed to making the world a safe place. We clear mines to stop people from being killed and wounded. We restore land for farming and other livelihoods and we restore confidence in countries devastated by war. I am proud of HALO's men and women, many of whom come from villages and towns living with landmines, who work everyday in pursuit of this goal."
James Cowan, CEO, HALO

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
James Cowan was a soldier. He joined The Black Watch from Oxford in 1986, serving in Berlin, Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Hong Kong. He helped plan the Kosovo operation in 1999. He commanded in Iraq in 2004 and 2006. He planned the military Olympic security operation of 2012. In 2015 he become HALO’s CEO.

James Cowan

Chief of Staff
Lucy joined HALO in 2017 and completed operations training in Cambodia, Somaliland, Georgia and Abkhazia. She was then posted to Afghanistan, Cambodia and Libya, overseeing the delivery of projects in mine clearance, weapons and ammunition management and IED clearance. In 2021 she became Chief of Staff. Before joining HALO, Lucy worked in sustainable travel and international development. She has a BA Hons in Chinese, an MPhil in racial and ethnic conflict and is a visiting fellow at The University of Oxford.

Lucy Reeve

Chief of Programmes
Calvin has worked for HALO since 2007 in Nagorno Karabakh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Angola, Somaliland and Afghanistan in both mine clearance and weapons and ammunition management. He was Regional Director for Southern Africa from 2012-16, then Head of Region for Afghanistan, the Middle East and North Africa before taking on the Director of Programmes role in 2021. He became Chief of Programmes in 2024. Calvin has represented HALO at the IMAS Review Board, has an MA from the University of Edinburgh and has attended the University of Cambridge’s Advanced Leadership Programme.

Calvin Ruysen

Chief Transformation Officer
Adam joined HALO in 2008 and worked on operations in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Georgia, Afghanistan, Mozambique and Ukraine before moving to HALO’s Washington office as Executive Director in 2016. His focus moved back to operations in 2019 joining the Capability department and he was appointed Chief Transformation Officer in 2024. Before joining HALO, Adam worked as a journalist at the British Broadcasting Corporation. He has studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Tbilisi State University and King’s College London.

Adam Jasinski

Chief Finance Officer
Mick joined HALO as Director of Finance in April 2017 and brings a wealth of public, private and not for profit experience to the organisation, including Finance, Project Management, Systems Development, Logistics and ICT. Mick is a keen weekend golfer and enjoys spending time with his young family.

Mick Darby

Executive Director, HALO USA
Chris Whatley joined HALO in June 2019. Prior to HALO, Chris served as Executive Director of the United Nations Association of the United States. Chris previously served as Deputy Executive Director of The Council of State Governments (CSG) and began his career as a field-based officer for the International Republican Institute (IRI), leading programs in Liberia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Chris Whatley

DIRECTORS

Director of Strategy
Ruth joined HALO in 2018 as Head of Partnerships and became Director of Strategy in 2022. Based in Scotland, Ruth manages the team that oversees HALO's government relationships and advocacy. This includes increasing engagement with new donors, connecting with local partners and maximising academic research.

Before HALO Ruth held senior HR roles, most recently with Oxfam, where she provided HR leadership for Oxfam’s work in the Middle East and North Africa region. Ruth has an MA in Human Resource Management from Oxford Brookes University and is a Chartered member of CIPD.

Ruth Jackson

Director of Communications (interim)
Louise has worked in the media and charity communications for 25 years, starting her career at BBC Radio Scotland and then Scotland on Sunday. She reported from Brazil for the Independent before becoming an editor at The Sunday Times.

Since 2004 she has worked for a number of NGOs in the human security field. She joined HALO in 2015 and holds an MA in Conflict, Security and Development from the University of Leeds.

Louise Vaughan

Director of Information Systems
Dan joined HALO in 2025 to lead the expanding Information Systems function across the organisation.

Dan has had a 25+ year career in information systems and technology, from running helpdesks to Information Systems Director and everything in-between. He has commercial experience in large global corporates and small-scale, rapid-growth start-ups, as well as working with not-for-profit organisations – his most recent role being at Amnesty International where he headed up enterprise solutions.

Dan Dickinson

Director of Planning
Tom has worked for HALO since 2008 in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Georgia. As Regional Director, he covered HALO’s programmes in the West Bank and Ukraine before becoming deputy director of Capability and then Deputy Director of Programmes with responsibility for the Eastern hemisphere in 2021.

Tom Meredith

Director of Capability
Michael joined HALO in 2007 and completed operational training before taking on roles in Afghanistan and Angola. He then moved to a global research and development position which involved developing and testing equipment and techniques for clearance of landmines and other explosive hazards across HALO’s global operations. Michael has had long involvement with the development of HALO’s training, procedures, safety systems, and information management. He has a MMath in Mathematics.

Michael Nevard

General Counsel
Alice is HALO’s General Counsel and Company Secretary. Alice is responsible for HALO’s global legal affairs and provides strategic legal advice to HALO’s CEO, Trustees and leadership team. In addition, Alice oversees governance and risk management. Alice joined HALO from BDB Pitmans LLP, where she specialised in supporting clients with charity law and governance matters. In that role Alice advised HALO for over 10 years, as well as international NGOs, public bodies, philanthropists and corporate foundations.

Alice Unwin

PROGRAMMES GROUP

Director of Programmes West
Tom joined HALO in Mozambique in 1996 and has managed operations and surveys in the field in Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Kosovo and Zimbabwe. Between field postings he has spent 7 years in headquarters serving as Desk Officer for Central Asia (2000 – 2004) and South East Asia (2004 -2007). Tom was regional director for Africa until 2021. He holds a BA LLB from the University of Cape Town. He oversees HALO's programmes in Europe, Latin America and Africa and is based in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Tom Dibb

Director of Programmes East
Callum joined HALO in 2003 and was deployed to Angola, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Mozambique and Cambodia. He was a founding member of HALO's global strategy team and later went on to become HALO's Chief of Staff from (2018-2021) and Head of Region for both the South Caucasus (2021) and Central Asia (2021-2024). In 2024, Callum became Director of Programmes East, with oversight for HALO’s activities in the Indo-Pacific and Middle East regions. He has three children, a dog, several chickens and a set of unruly bagpipes.

Callum Peebles

Director of Weapons and Ammunition Management
Lawrie Clapton is HALO’s Director of Weapons and Ammunition Management. Lawrie is responsible for HALO’s capacity development of host-nation partners in over 16 countries globally, leading HALO’s strategic approach under the WAM Directorate. Lawrie Clapton joined HALO as a field officer in 2018 and has worked across HALO’s global programmes, including Cambodia, Abkhasia, Somalia, Kenya, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Lawrie Clapton

Director of Weapons and Ammunition Management Operations
In 2014 Fiona joined HALO’s Côte d’Ivoire programme managing large-scale demolitions, weapons destruction, and construction of weapons and ammunition storage facilities. She went on to manage programmes in Sri Lanka and Laos, later becoming HALO’s Head of Training then Head of Region for the Balkans and South Caucasus. In 2024, Fiona became Director of WAM Operations. Before joining HALO, Fiona taught bomb disposal in Afghanistan after spending nine years as a British Army Ammunition Technician.

Fiona Kilpatrick-Cooper

Regional Director Africa
Susanna joined HALO in 2014. After training in Zimbabwe, Nagorno Karabakh and Afghanistan she became a Location Manager in Cambodia and then was the Programme Manager of HALO Laos for two years. Susanna worked globally within the Capability Department on training and R&D projects before becoming head of HALO's southern Africa region in 2021. In 2024 Susanna became Regional Director for HALO’s Africa programmes. Susanna has a BA in Geography and a post-graduate degree in Law.

Susanna Smale

Regional Director MENA
Andrew is a former professional opera singer, who has worked for HALO since 2005. He has managed demining operations in Mozambique, Angola, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Georgia. In his previous role as Regional Director for Europe, Andrew was responsible for developing private fundraising for Kosovo and Nagorno Karabakh and from 2017-2020, he was Director of Private Fundraising & Communications.

Andrew Moore

Regional Director Indo-Pacific
In 2016, Belinda completed HALO’s operational training across Cambodia, Afghanistan and the Caucasus. She has since deployed to HALO’s Ukraine, Abkhazia and Sri Lanka programmes, later becoming Head of Region - South Asia. In 2024 Belinda stepped into the role of Regional Director Indo-Pacific in which she focuses on regional and country strategic direction, external engagement and staff wellbeing. Before joining HALO Belinda was a marine biologist researching the impact of climate change on Antarctic communities.

Belinda Vause

Regional Director for Europe and the Americas
Tom trained with HALO in Somaliland in April 2011 and subsequently spent time managing operations in Georgia, Côte d'Ivoire, Mozambique and Afghanistan. Returning to Somaliland as Programme Manager in 2015 he oversaw the establishment of HALO's Southern Somalia Programme. Tom is currently HALO's Regional Director for Europe and the Americas, including overseeing Ukraine and Colombia. Prior to HALO, he worked in outdoor education after attending university in the Lake District in the UK.

Tom Griffiths

Our US staff

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