International sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future announced changes to its global leadership team today. These included key leadership appointments for its Southeast Asia and India portfolios.
Its former associate director for Asia-Pacific Sumi Dhanarajan has been promoted to managing director and will lead Forum’s team in Southeast Asia, presently based in Singapore. Anna Biswas, previously associate director of India, has also been appointed managing director.
Forum’s former Asia managing director Ariel Muller will be taking on a larger role as its director of futures and strategic initiatives, based in Singapore. The appointments are effective from January 2023.
In a press statement, Forum said that the new changes are designed to enable the organisation to deliver its new three-year strategy, which aims to transform the food and energy sectors, and address the role of business in society.
Dr Sally Uren, Forum’s London-based chief executive, said that over the last 12 months, the organisation has reflected on whether it has challenged itself enough to push for “genuine, deep and positive transformation” in sustainability.
“The world has made some progress in tackling key sustainability issues, but we are not yet going far enough or acting fast enough. This needs to change. We need systemic solutions capable of tackling the root causes of our social, environmental and economic crisis – and I believe our renewed leadership team is now best positioned to enable this,” she said.
Anna Biswas, who will continue to lead Forum’s Responsible Energy Initiative in India, said that the organisation’s work on the programme has contributed to a renewed sense of agency for it to also push for a just transition in other areas such as food.
Biswas said she looked forward to taking the non-profit’s Mumbai office forward as India takes on the G20 presidency.
The Responsible Energy Initiative is a multi-year programme to ensure that while the renewable energy transition in Asia achieves its full potential, the movement is ecologically safe, rights-respecting and socially just.
Forum also announced its appointment of a new international managing director Hannah Pathak who will lead its operations in its four global offices, as well as a newly-created “Impact Team”.
