October update of The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
NEW CEO, NEW TEAM, NEW HEADQUARTERS

Ernst Ligteringen has been named as the new Chief Executive of the Global Reporting Initiative.

His appointment was announced by GRI on 3 October, following approval by its Board of Directors.

A Dutch national, Ernst Ligteringen has over 20 years’ broad experience in global development.

As the first Executive Director of Oxfam International from 1995 to 2001, he successfully led the coordination of strategies and activities among Oxfam’s national organisations. He then joined the International Federation of the Red Cross as its Director of Programme Coordination. There, he was the line manager for the federation’s 67 offices worldwide, which provide focussed support for the programmatic and organisational development of the 178 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. He also led the reorganisation of the federation’s HQ and overseas programme capacity. He is currently a management consultant to the International Labour Organisation’s World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation, and to a Washington-based coalition of development banks and international development organisations working together as the Inter-Agency Consultation on Race in Latin America.

"Ernst is a clear strategic thinker with depth, vision and excellent management skills," commented GRI Chair Judy Henderson. "He brings to GRI a wealth of international experience. He has played a leading role in building up international institutions, and his skills in bringing people together from different perspectives and cultures will be an invaluable asset to GRI."

Both Judy Henderson and Ernst Ligteringen highlighted the pivotal role played by Dr. Allen White in the development of GRI. Currently GRI’s Acting Chief Executive, Allen was a founder of the initiative and built it up into the permanent global organisation that it has now become.

"There is absolutely no doubt that GRI would not be where it is today without Allen’s vision, commitment and enormous capacity for hard work," Judy Henderson emphasised. "We sincerely hope that his energy and expertise will continue to be available to us."

"GRI has developed a highly relevant approach for our times," Ernst Ligteringen said. "It combines the active engagement of civil society, business, labour and government, learning and working together to strengthen the GRI Guidelines. I commend my predecessor, Dr. Allen White, the GRI Board and the many active GRI supporters for this remarkable achievement. I consider it an honour to be entrusted with this key role in serving and leading GRI in its further mission to make transparent sustainability reporting the norm."

* GRI has now opened its new international headquarters. Located in central Amsterdam, the offices are ideally suited to GRI’s role as a permanent global institution. The inauguration of the headquarters was marked by an official reception hosted by the City of Amsterdam at the Mayor’s Residence.

* Key staff are now in place in Amsterdam, and more recruitments are likely soon. Some of the staffers have moved from GRI’s previous temporary HQ in Boston, USA. Others are newly recruited. Drawn from all over the world, they combine many years’ experience of all GRI stakeholder constituencies, including business, finance, development, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and organised labour.

* Address of GRI’s new headquarters:

Keizersgracht 209
1016 DT Amsterdam
The Netherlands

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