Iain Stewart joined IIASA in 2005 and is the Head of the External Relations, Communications, and Library Department. This role also sees Iain working closely with the IIASA Director General and Council to strengthen and enhance relations with the 22 countries that have IIASA membership. He is a former journalist (UK's Sunday Times and Business 2.0 magazine) with over nineteen years' experience in communicating research to diverse audiences.

Iain came to IIASA to run the Publication Department, which he subsequently modernized and transformed into the Communications Department--managing IIASA's website, media relations and social media along side traditional publication and marketing activities. In 2013, he managed the merger of the Communications Department with the Library and added digital media to its activities. Finally in 2016, he established an external relations unit within the department to focus on managing IIASA's relations with its member countries.

Prior to IIASA, he ran the press office of the UK's Economic and Social Research Council. He has a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Sociology and the UK's Chartered Institute of Public Relations' postgraduate qualification in public relations.