Luke J. Lindberg Takes the Helm as Executive Director of World Food Programme and Calls for Action on Addressing Global Hunger
“Conflict is driving people into hunger, and extreme weather and maritime chokepoints exacerbate this reality,” said Executive Director Lindberg. “Yet, in the middle of the chaos, humanitarians in vests marked ‘WFP’ find a way. We cannot do it alone. Governments, institutions, businesses, and individuals need to stand with us, fund the work, and help get food to people before it’s too late. No more famines.”
As many as 266 million people faced acute hunger worldwide last year, with conflict driving the most severe crises. Today, WFP teams operate across 83 countries where hunger threatens livelihoods.
Lindberg succeeds former Executive Director, Cindy McCain, Executive Director from April 2023 to May 2026 and Carl Skau, who has served as Acting Executive Director since June.
Before joining WFP, Lindberg served as Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the United States Department of Agriculture.
He previously founded South Dakota Trade, a public-private partnership dedicated to expanding international markets for the state’s exporters and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer. He also served as Chief of Staff and Chief Strategy Officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of weather extremes.