Aniruddha (Ani) Dasgupta has been named by the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) board of directors as its next president and chief executive officer.
A release stated that Dasgupta is a well-known leader in sustainable cities, urban design and poverty alleviation. He has been leading WRI’s Cities programme for the last seven years. Originally from Delhi, India, he has earlier served as a director of knowledge and learning at the World Bank.
Indian-American executive Aniruddha Dasgupta is only the fourth president in WRI’s history of nearly four decades.
Dasgupta, who assumed his role on July 9, 2020, succeeded the previous president of WRI — CEO Andrew Steer. Steer stepped down from his position at WRI to head the Bezos Earth Fund.
Besides Dasgupta’s achievement, Manish Bapna has been appointed president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council, WRI has confirmed.
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Bapna has been the executive vice president and managing director at WRI for 14 years. He was one of the principal architects who helped establish WRI’s offices in China, India and Brazil. He played a crucial role in designing its global network.
“This is a remarkable moment, not just for WRI, but for people and the planet. We are thrilled that Ani has agreed to serve as our next president and CEO, and we are happy that Manish will be assuming the leadership at NRDC— which is a ‘cousin’ organization to WRI,” David Blood, WRI’s global board co-chair, was quoted as saying.
Dasgupta helps create sustainable cities and reduce inequity. He strives to improve the quality of people’s lives.
As the global director of the Cities programme, he leads a 400-member team of experts.
“It’s a deep honour to take the helm at WRI at the beginning of this critical decade. Countries across the world are facing simultaneous crises—economic recovery, human wellbeing and the climate emergency—which together require thoughtful context-specific shifts towards a just, low-carbon future. The window to change course is narrow, and we need solutions that are able to address multiple challenges. To succeed, we all need to raise our game,” Dasgupta said in a statement.
Dasgupta, who has master’s degrees from MIT in city planning and architecture, was a World Bank director before joining WRI. There, he played a major role in developing the Bank’s first knowledge strategy.
