Myles has a long history of involvement with international development and Africa.  He was Head of the British Development Division in Eastern Africa from 1993-97; coordinated the 1997 Government White Paper Eliminating World Poverty: a challenge for the 21st Century; served on the Board of the World Bank (and as Development Counsellor at the British Embassy) in Washington from 1997 to 2000; and from 2000 to 2004 was based in Addis Ababa as British Ambassador to Ethiopia, Djibouti and the African Union.  He was in 2004/2005 Head of Secretariat to the Commission for Africa. His book Aid and Development: a brief introduction was published by OUP in June 2015.

Myles is Visiting Professor (International Relations) at the Open University and King’s College London; Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Exeter; and Advisor to ‘Hand in Hand International’ and ‘Development Initiatives’. He is on the Boards of a number of NGOs and Foundations.  He has degrees from the Universities of St Andrews (MA First Class Honours) and Oxford (M.Litt), and has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by Leeds Met University, the Open University and the University of Ulster in recognition of his work on Africa and development. In the New Year’s Honours 2006 he was appointed CBE.