Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen took up his duties as Deputy Secretary-General in January 2019. His portfolio includes the strategic direction of OECD policy on science, technology and innovation; employment, labour and social affairs, migration, health; education; and trade and agriculture. He oversees the Centre for Skills and the Well-Being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity Centre (WISE), and in June 2021 was appointed OECD Gender & Diversity Champion, leading the organisation’s work on Gender Equality. Jointly with the Secretary-General, Mr Knudsen transformed the OECD Executive Committee in Special Session into the Global Strategy Group (GSG) to have a strategic forum to discuss issues of global relevance, which he chaired from 2013-2017.