Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation's administrative arm is collectively called the Secretariat which is led by the General Secretary.
When Rotary was in its infancy, and you could count the number of clubs on both your hands and feet and have toes left over, the Secretariat of Rotary was the Secretary of Rotary, Chesley R. (Ches) Perry. Today, the Secretariat is the nomenclature given to the staff, the offices and the services that run the infrastructure of Rotary International. 
Originally based in Chicago, the birthplace of Rotary; it is now headquartered in Evanston, Illinois (right) and supported by field offices around the world. There are seven international offices in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Korea, and Switzerland. The clubs and districts in Great Britain and Ireland are served by Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI), located in England, and not by the Rotary World Headquarters or international offices.
The RI general secretary heads a 650-member staff working to serve Rotarians worldwide. The Secretariat supports approximately 34,000 local Rotary Clubs doing good all over the world. The Rotary Clubs are organized into approximately 530 districts and 34 zones.
The present General Secretary is John Hewko who is a member of the Rotary Club of Kyiv, Ukraine. From 2004 to 2009, Hewko was vice president for operations and compact development for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government agency established in 2004 to deliver foreign assistance to the world’s poorest countries.
The mission of the Secretariat of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation is to collaborate with Rotary’s constituents in strengthening membership and service efforts, increasing and safeguarding Rotary’s assets, and enhancing Rotary’s image.