Dr. C. James Hospedales, a citizen of Trinidad & Tobago, is the Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency since February 2013. From 2006-2012, Dr Hospedales was responsible for the PAHO program for prevention and control of chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). He played a key role in increasing priority and resources for NCDs, including helping organize the CARICOM and UN Summits on NCDs. He pioneered the Pan American Forum for Action on NCDs, which brings together governments, civil society, academia & business. He has also been a champion for civil society involvement in efforts to improve health, and helped catalyze the formation of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition. From 1998–2006, Dr. Hospedales was Director of the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre. He was instrumental in developing donor partnerships for HIV/AIDS prevention, and a partnership with the Caribbean tourism industry to improve health, safety and environment conditions. Dr. Hospedales was a member of the Caribbean Commission on Health and Development, which made policy recommendations in 2005 to the Heads of Government and named chronic diseases as a super-priority for the Region. Dr. Hospedales’ career has included service as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the US Centers for Disease Control, as an epidemiologist at CAREC, and several years working in public health for the UK National Health Service. Dr. Hospedales graduated with honors in medicine from the University of the West Indies. He has a Masters of Science degree in community medicine from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is a Fellow of UK Faculty of Public Health, and an accredited partnership broker with the Partnering Institute of the UK. He has published more than 60 papers and reports.