Howard was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) in February 2019. Throughout his career Howard has worked and written extensively on issues relating to the nursing and healthcare workforce and he co-chaired the first ever State of the World’s Nursing Report. He has led ICN’s work to respond to and support nurses globally during the pandemic and has been at the forefront of advocating for the protection of and investment in the nursing profession. Howard joined ICN in April 2016 as the Director, Nursing, Policy and Programmes.  Prior to this, Howard was Head of Policy & International Affairs at the Royal College of Nursing in the UK. Howard has also served as an elected Local Government Councillor in England and f was a Cabinet member with lead responsibility for corporate and customer services.