Executive staff

General Secretary

John Hewko is the general secretary of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Kyiv in Ukraine.

Read his full biography and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Deputy General Secretary

Peter DeBerge

Peter DeBerge works closely with Rotary International's general secretary to direct the operations of the RI Secretariat. Before assuming this role in 2011, Peter served for more than eight years as assistant general secretary, general manager of financial services, and chief financial officer for Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation.

Peter has more than 40 years of financial, administrative, strategic planning, and business development experience. He has served as a key financial adviser to executive management in both commercial and not-for-profit organizations.

Peter earned a degree in accounting from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, USA, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He is a certified public accountant and a member of Financial Executives International, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Illinois CPA Society. He also serves on the Advisory and Development Board of St. Vincent de Paul Center in Chicago. Peter is a Paul Harris Fellow.

General Manager and Chief Programs and Member Services Officer

Michele Berg manages more than 150 employees in functions that support Rotary members, including education and training, Rotary programs, international meetings, support for clubs and districts, Rotary coordinators, membership engagement, and the Contact Center.

Michele has worked for Rotary for more than 15 years, most recently in the field of education and training. Michele graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a major in Italian. She earned her MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a dual specialization in marketing and international business.

Michele is a Paul Harris Fellow and a member of the Rotary Club of Evanston, Illinois, USA.

General Manager and Chief Strategy Officer

Joe Brownlee plans and coordinates strategic initiatives at Rotary International. He joined Rotary in 2004 as its general auditor and has since held the positions of strategic planning manager, in which he worked closely with top leadership to create the organization's strategic plan, and global launch manager for Future Vision, Rotary's new, streamlined grant model.

Joe has 20 years of professional experience in health care, transportation, government, membership organizations, and charities. His expertise includes strategic planning and performance management, operational auditing, customer service center management, project and contract management, and program implementation management.

Joe holds a bachelor of science in business administration and accounting from the University of South Carolina. In 1986, he received a college scholarship from the Rotary Club of Beaufort. Joe is a member of the Rotary Club of Evanston and volunteers with his club and with several charities for children.

General Manager and Chief Communications Officer

Alan J. Buddendeck oversees a staff of about 115 professionals in the areas of brand communications, public relations, digital assets, The Rotarian magazine and other publications, and translation and interpretation services.

Alan served most recently as vice president and chief communications officer for Carlson, Inc., a global hospitality and travel company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Prior to joining Carlson, Alan was corporate vice president for global communications, brand communications, and corporate social responsibility for Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., based in Yokohama, Japan. He also held various senior communications positions with Motorola, Inc. between April 1997 and May 2007, including assignments in Austin, Texas, USA; Hong Kong, China; and Libertyville, Illinois, USA.

Alan received a bachelor of arts degree in English and a master of arts degree in theology from the University of Dayton, Ohio, USA, where he also served as an adjunct professor and lecturer in theological studies for the College of Arts and Sciences from 1990 through 1997.

General Manager and Chief Financial Officer

Lori Carlson oversees all aspects of the financial operations of Rotary International and its charitable arm, The Rotary Foundation, which have combined revenues exceeding US$400 million and almost $1 billion in assets. Her responsibilities include financial management, financial planning and analysis, treasury and investment, corporate reporting, accounting services, insurance, risk management, and procurement.  

Lori has nearly 30 years of combined experience in treasury, financial planning, and financial reporting and control, most of it with the pharmaceutical companies Hospira Inc., where she was corporate vice president and treasurer, and Abbott Laboratories, where she held several positions, including assistant treasurer and treasurer for international operations.  

She graduated from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, USA, with a degree in business administration, and she earned an MBA-finance degree from Southern Methodist University’s Edwin L. Cox School of Business, in Dallas, Texas.

General Manager and Chief Information and Administrative Officer

Peter Markos leads a global team of more than 130 staffers in Information Systems and Data Processing. In addition, he helped establish RI's Information Technology Development Center in Pune, India.

Peter has more than 17 years of management and IT experience.

He graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in economics, and has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Peter is a Paul Harris Fellow.

General Manager and Chief Development Officer

The Rotary Foundation is one of the largest charitable organizations in the United States for fundraising and international grant making. It's staffed by about 160 dedicated professionals. As general manager of The Rotary Foundation, John Osterlund oversees the operations of four divisions: PolioPlus, Fund Development, Future Vision Pilot Operations, and Foundation Programs. John has been a member of the Rotary staff for approximately 20 years.

He graduated with a degree in political science from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, USA, and was awarded a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship. John received his master's degree in history education from Florida State University in Tallahassee.

John is a member of the Rotary Club of Evanston Lighthouse, Evanston, Illinois. He is a Paul Harris Fellow and a Benefactor of The Rotary Foundation.

General Counsel

Steven Routburg

Steven Routburg and his staff counsel the leadership of Rotary International, The Rotary Foundation, and the Secretariat staff on a wide range of issues about law and legal and corporate policy. Legal Services also supports RI's triennial Council on Legislation and manages the grant stewardship function for The Rotary Foundation.

Steven joined Rotary’s staff in 1996 and has been general counsel since 1999.

He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and received his undergraduate business degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Steven is a Paul Harris Fellow.