Fiona Schnell is CEO of the International Institute for Human Rights and Peace. 

As researcher in international security, she graduated in Public Law and Security studies from the Universities of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and Grenoble. Her research, carried out with the support of the IRSEM, focuses in particular on the European Union's external action in the Sahel. Since 2010, she has been teaching European law and international relations at the Faculty of Law and Sciences Po Grenoble, then at Sciences Po Aix-en-Provence. 

In 2018, she joined the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa as Deputy Editorial Director. Specializing in security sector reform in sub-Saharan Africa, she became in 2019, Program Manager at DCAF, the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance, overseeing projects in Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso. 

From 2022, she continues to carry on external evaluations of international security projects. After a time at the Normandy Region in support of the Normandy World Forum for Peace and President Hervé Morin's international action, Fiona Schnell joined the Institute in November 2023. As CEO, she is responsible for the Institute's strategic direction, with a view to strengthening its international influence and developing its expertise.