The Centre for Disaster Protection has named Ben Webster as its new associate director, effective September 8, 2025, as part of its mission to expand the adoption of pre-arranged disaster financing mechanisms.
Webster joins from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, where he served as head of the secretariat for the Risk-Informed Early Action Partnership. In that role, he led collaborations across climate, humanitarian, development, and meteorological organisations to strengthen disaster preparedness and response.
During his tenure, Webster spearheaded efforts to scale up early action initiatives and embed risk-informed strategies into national policies and legal frameworks, promoting systemic change in how governments and institutions anticipate and manage disasters.
At the Centre, Webster will focus on enhancing technical and policy support for governments, donors, and multilateral organisations seeking to establish and implement pre-arranged financing mechanisms.
Commenting on his appointment, Webster said: “This is an exciting opportunity to help shift the reality by making pre-arranged finance standard practice, ensuring protection reaches people when it is needed most.”
Daniel Clarke, executive director of the Centre for Disaster Protection, emphasised Webster’s proven ability to unite diverse policymakers and experts to reshape disaster planning and financing approaches. Clarke noted: “Ben’s leadership will be invaluable at a time when disaster losses exceed US$200 billion annually, yet pre-arranged finance remains far too small and concentrated.”
