Doreen Bogdan-Martin took office as Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 1 January 2023, the first woman ever to head the organization. Ms Bogdan-Martin has held leadership positions in the field of international telecommunications policy for over two decades. As Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau for a four-year term starting in 2018, she helped put sustainable digital development at the forefront of international cooperation, including with the private sector and civil society. She actively promoted the Partner2Connect initiative, which has mobilized unprecedented pledges of funding and support for meaningful Internet connectivity in developing countries. She was instrumental in establishing the ITU-UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development; contributed to the success of ITU's Global Symposium for Regulators as the pre-eminent worldwide meeting for digital policy makers; and led ITU's youth engagement strategy. She also pioneered ITU's ongoing contribution to the EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age and initiated ITU's collaboration with UNICEF on the Giga project to connect every school worldwide to the Internet. Within ITU, she has promoted gender equality and encouraged bringing more women into the workforce, as well as helping women grow professionally and contributing to networks of women pursuing gender-balanced participation in conferences and policy making. Before joining ITU in 1994, she worked at the US Department of Commerce as a Telecommunication Policy Specialist.