How Dylan Welch Helps Organizations Navigate the UN System

Dylan Welch is the founder and CEO of Welch International, an international relations and strategic advisory firm based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and he works as a private contractor for the United Nations. This feature, part of Intelligence Report’s leadership series, looks at how Dylan Welch and Welch International help governments, companies and institutions engage the UN and the wider multilateral system.

Why is the UN system hard to engage?

For many organizations, the difficulty is not a shortage of shared goals. It is knowing which entity to approach, how decisions are made and how to turn an introduction into a working program. The UN is also in the middle of reform, which raises the stakes for newcomers.

Recent events show the private sector moving closer to the center of that conversation. In a speech to the UNDP Executive Board, UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo said UNDP is increasingly working with the private sector as a strategic development partner, and he pointed to partnerships with companies including Samsung, HP and Mastercard. During this year’s General Assembly high-level week, the US Council for International Business reported that discussions focused on business engagement in support of UN80 reform. Analysts have also flagged gaps: a UN80 environmental review described fragmented private sector engagement as an implementation challenge.

These are independent developments, and neither Dylan Welch nor Welch International is described as involved in them. They do show why guidance on UN engagement is in demand. For related context, see Intelligence Report’s coverage of the UN climate presidencies meeting in New York and the UN report on off-track biodiversity pledges.

What does Welch International do?

Welch International specializes in business development, strategic partnerships and operations across the public sector, the private sector and the multilateral system. The firm says it helps clients build the partnerships, pipelines and operations that turn shared goals into measurable results. Its work is organized into three services:

• Develop: business development, including mapping markets and stakeholders, securing decision-maker introductions and shaping pipelines.
• Partner: designing public-private alliances, building coalitions and guiding engagement with the UN system.
• Operate: standing up programs, cross-border operating models and high-level convenings.

Its focus areas include public-private partnerships, market entry and expansion, United Nations and multilateral engagement, government relations, sustainable development, and convenings and delegations. Welch International serves governments, corporations, multilateral institutions (including UN entities), and nonprofits and foundations.

The firm lists five principles: trusted access, cross-sector fluency, discretion, execution and senior attention. It also commits to direct principal involvement on every mandate, so clients work with Dylan Welch rather than a rotating team of intermediaries.

How does Dylan Welch work with the United Nations?

Dylan Welch’s UN connection is both professional and practical. He works as a private contractor for the United Nations, and his background includes UN-adjacent foundation operations. He is an expert in business development, strategic partnerships and communication strategy, which are the skills most organizations need when they move from interest in the UN to a funded, accountable partnership.

His convening work is the most visible example. Dylan Welch is the founder and host of the Global Leadership Forum. Its 2026 edition, the New York Innovation Forum for Sustainable Development, took place on September 21 and 22, 2026, at 777 UN Plaza in New York. It was timed to Climate Week NYC and the 81st UN General Assembly. Peace Boat US, which holds ECOSOC Special Consultative Status, and Welch International co-hosted it.

Partners and sponsors included Siemens, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, RMI, the Roosevelt Alliance, Blue Planet Alliance, HNO International and the Global Leadership Network. Programming covered a Business and Innovation Forum, a Nature Conservation Forum for a Renewable Energy Future and a Climate Week Family Office Forum. The mix reflects a theme in his work: bringing corporate, philanthropic and institutional participants into the same room as the multilateral system.

His other roles point the same way. Dylan Welch is co-founder of the Global Leadership Network and Chief Development Officer of the Roosevelt Alliance, a land and nature conservation policy organization. He also founded Intelligence Report and hosts The Intelligence Report Podcast. Earlier in his career he spent about a decade as an international expedition guide, leading expeditions across Europe, South America and Asia. He has also organized philanthropic expeditions internationally, worked in broadcast production, and co-founded and exited a green media company.

Work with Welch International

Organizations weighing a UN or multilateral strategy, a public-private alliance or a market entry plan can speak directly with Dylan Welch. To book a confidential 30 minute consultation with Welch International, use this booking link.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Welch International
• Second Regular Session of the UNDP Executive Board 2026
• USCIB at the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81)
• UN80 Update Addresses Efforts to Reform Environmental Governance
• Welch International

This article was produced by the Intelligence Report Desk. Sources are linked below.