ICMEC Leadership Update - International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children

Sir Stephen Kavanagh joins the ICMEC Executive Board of Directors
Shawnna Hoffman appointed Chief Executive Officer of ICMEC

Alexandria, VA, United States of America, (September 18, 2025) – At today’s meeting of the Board of Directors of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), Sir Stephen Kavanagh was appointed as a member of the Executive Board of Directors and Shawnna Hoffman was appointed as Chief Executive Officer, both with immediate effect.

The Board and the ICMEC team wish to thank Sir Stephen for his hard work, insight, and leadership as Secretary General of the organization since February. His international law enforcement experience and deep expertise in combating organized crime, child exploitation, and human trafficking will continue to be an asset for ICMEC in his new role as an active Board member.

Shawnna Hoffman joins ICMEC with more than two decades of global leadership spanning Fortune 100 corporations, government agencies, academia, and nonprofit organizations. Recognized for applying artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and cybersecurity to improve global safety, Shawnna has held senior leadership positions at Dell Technologies, ServiceNow, and IBM, where she led the IBM Watson AI Legal Practice and later led blockchain strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, designing supply chain solutions to connect healthcare providers.

She is the former Chair of MIT’s Task Force on Computational Law for Combating Modern Slavery and Co-Founder of Hope Partnership, which has served more than 100,000 homeless individuals. A frequent keynote speaker at the United Nations, before parliaments and governments across the globe, AFCEA, and leading universities, she has been called upon to brief world leaders on emerging technologies, cybersecurity, and child protection, helping to shape strategies that safeguard vulnerable populations. Shawnna has also testified multiple times before the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on the advancements of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. She is a Harvard University graduate with advanced training in National Security and Strategy from the U.S. Army War College, a patent holder, and co-author.

Under Shawnna’s leadership, ICMEC will continue to strengthen its strategic focus on technology, innovation, and communities of safety, underpinned by research and global partnerships. She will work closely with the entire ICMEC team, including Sir Stephen, to ensure continuity in critical programs and to expand ICMEC’s global impact.

Shawnna will straight away be working closely with the whole team at ICMEC, including the former General Secretary Stephen Kavanagh, ensuring continuity in ICMEC’s critical partnerships and programs and beyond that to grow ICMEC’s impact.

Sally Paull, ICMEC Board Chair, commented:

” A big thank you to Stephen whose time at ICMEC as Secretary General has included many advances with programmes and partnerships. Stephen has also enabled us to refocus our strategies in order to have an increasing tech focus, thereby putting us in a position to bring Shawnna on board.

We are also pleased to have Stephen join the ICMEC Executive Board which will give us access to his specialist expertise, experience and insights from three decades in law enforcement in the UK and at INTERPOL. It has been fantastic working with Stephen this year. Having both his and Shawnna’s complementary skill sets on the team will be a great asset.

The job ahead to protect children remains as pressing as ever before. The challenges are evolving and come from many directions, but our core goal to protect children remains unchanged. It is gratifying to see the ICMEC team totally focused on this and I am glad to welcome Shawnna into that team.”

Sir Stephen Kavanagh commented:

“Shawnna has all the qualities to make her a great leader of ICMEC. As well as her background in the tech industry and experience working for the right outcomes for the disadvantaged she has shown herself able to mobilise people and organisations. She also has undoubted passion for this role and for the protection of children.

I am excited to be staying with ICMEC and involved helping with implementation. I know that Shawnna’s new perspective and leadership is exactly what ICMEC needs as we look at the emerging challenges from AI and other fast developing technologies.

Great organisation like ICMEC can be force multipliers when we work with other organizations, whether in law enforcement, government, community or health bodies and with representatives of tech and other industries.

I am confident that the ICMEC team can go on to achieve even more to ensure global child protection and justice. One child missing, exploited, or abused is one too many.

Shawnna Hoffman commented:

“My career at the intersection of technology and human rights has shown me the tremendous potential organizations like ICMEC have to create lasting global change. Our mission—to protect children—demands both innovation and collaboration. Children deserve to grow up safely.

ICMEC’s international reach and partnerships uniquely position us to lead that change through strengthening global cooperation, empowering more effective use of technology to prevent crimes, and advancing laws and policies that keep pace with emerging threats.

I am honored by the confidence of the Board and energized by the opportunity to work alongside ICMEC’s extraordinary staff, partners, and global network. Together, we will expand ICMEC’s impact and ensure that every child, everywhere is protected.”