The Singapore chapter of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the world’s largest nature conservation group, has appointed finance professional R Raghunathan as chief executive.
Raghunathan brings 25 years of financial consulting experience to the role, which WWF Singapore says will help the organisation build partnerships with the business and finance community in Singapore and elsewhere around the region.
He comes on board 18 months after the resignation of Elaine Tan, who was CEO from 2011 to 2018.
Chief financial officer Yeo Yun Lin was acting CEO until April 2019. Yeo has just joined Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a corporate coalition set up to improve waste collection and recycling in Asia, as financial controller. Former ABN AMRO Bank Asia Pacific CEO Maureen DeRooij took over in April 2019, and has also since departed.
Raghunathan joins WWF Singapore after more than two years running his own consulting business, InnoTrust Solutions, and before that spent much of his career with professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, latterly as a partner in Singapore.
In a statement, WWF Singapore said: “With urgent and unprecedented action needed to secure a sustainable future for people and nature, Raghunathan’s appointment reinforces the importance of businesses and financial
institutions as a force for change.”
“Bringing extensive experience in consulting and finance, he will advance WWF-Singapore’s partnerships with financial institutions, corporates and industry bodies in Singapore and the region.”
WWF Singapore’s key programmes include deforestation, haze pollution, seafood sustainability and the illegal wildlife trade, which has been in the media spotlight in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic—the virus is believed to have emerged from the wildlife trade in China. WWF Singapore is one of the group’s global hubs, supporting a network that operates in more than 100 countries.
