Kevin Osborne of South Africa is the new executive director of the International AIDS Society, according to an IAS press release. He will succeed Owen Ryan, who will step down after the 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018), to be held July 23 to 27 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and organized by IAS.

In addition to his global work in public health, Osborne brings lived experience to the position: He is the first IAS executive director to be living with HIV.

“Kevin is a true connector who can bring together scientists, advocates, donors and policy makers,” said IAS president Linda-Gail Bekker in the press release. “He has played a pivotal role in South Africa and on the global stage to advance access to treatment and prevention and better integration of HIV and sexual and reproductive health services.”

“We are at a crossroads with both ambitious global goals to end this epidemic and looming threats to global funding and sound policy,” added Osborne, referring to the current moment in the history of the HIV epidemic. “As the world’s largest association of HIV professionals, our mission to advance science and mobilize collective action has never been more important.”

IAS spearheads the International AIDS Conference, which takes place every other year at a different city across the globe, as well as the IAS Conference on HIV Science. For more details, visit IASociety.org. For more about this year’s conference, visit AIDS2018.org.

For a related article on an upcoming conference, slated for San Francisco, read the POZ article “Don’t Hold the AIDS 2020 Conference on U.S. Soil, Urge HIV Groups.”