Prior to his current position, Rastislav Vrbensky has been most recently the Manager of Istanbul Regional Hub (since November 2014). Prior to this appointment, Rastislav was UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Montenegro (2011-2014). Before that he worked as Country Director in UNDP Tajikistan (2008-2011). He also served as Deputy Resident Representative in Serbia (2004-2007). From 2000 until 2004 he held a number of positions in UNDP’s Regional Centre in Bratislava as Assistant Director, Head of Country Liaison Unit, Sustainable Development Advisor and Capacity 21 Regional Coordinator. Before joining UNDP, Rastislav worked for the Regional Environment Centre for Central and Eastern Europe in Slovakia (1998-2000). He began his career in the Ministry of Environment of Slovakia.

Rastislav Vrbensky holds a PhD. in Development Studies and a Master of Environmental Science from Comenius University Bratislava as well as a Master of Environmental Management from University of Amsterdam. In 2007, he was a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics.