Ricardo MENA has served the UN System since 1993, occupying various positions in the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs, UNDHA, United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, the Department of Management and from 2009 as Chief of the Regional Office for The Americas of the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Office, UNISDR. His work at the Department of Management contributed to the establishment of the Business Continuity Management Unit and the corporate Pandemic Preparedness for the UN Secretariat. Over his 20 years of experience in disaster risk reduction, Mr. Mena has written publications and articles, he is a founding member of the Network of Social Studies in Disaster Prevention for Latin America, LA RED, and participates as a member of the UN Development Group, UNDG-LAC. Mr. Mena held managerial positions in the private sector in Ecuador and served as Deputy Director of an Emergency Preparedness Program of Partners of the Americas. Ricardo Mena holds a Master Degree in Risk Crisis and Disaster Management from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom.