Howard was appointed Chief Executive Officer of ICN in February 2019. He is committed to ensuring that ICN effectively represents nursing worldwide. Howard joined ICN in April 2016 as Director of Nursing, Policy and Programmes. Before that he was Head of Policy & International Affairs at the Royal College of Nursing in the UK, working with many different stakeholders on nursing and health policy in the UK and overseas. Howard qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1988 and worked in England, the USA and New Zealand. He studied Social Policy at Cardiff University and Industrial Relations at Warwick University.