Ravi Venkatesan Joins The Rockefeller Foundation Board of Trustees

NEW YORK, July 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rockefeller Foundation, now in its second century of advancing the well-being of humanity, today announced the appointment of Ravi Venkatesan to its Board of Trustees. Mr. Venkatesan is the former Chairman of Microsoft India and currently Founder and Chairman of Social Venture Partners India, a network of philanthropists addressing social problems. He is also a Venture Partner at impact investor Unitus Seed Fund.

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"With our commitment to catalyze new ideas and innovations at The Rockefeller Foundation, I am delighted to welcome Ravi Venkatesan, a proven leader with strong business and technology backgrounds," said Board Chair David Rockefeller, Jr. "His experience will be invaluable in advancing the Foundation's commitment to scaling innovations that expand opportunity, realize shared prosperity, and create jobs for more people globally."

"Our century of investment in Asia has focused on addressing our dual goals of promoting more inclusive economies and building greater resilience against shocks and stresses," said Dr. Judith Rodin, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. "Ravi, with his commitment to philanthropy along with his eye for solutions and relentless drive for innovation, will provide essential guidance to our work in the years ahead."

"I am thrilled and honored to be joining The Rockefeller Foundation Board of Trustees," Mr. Venkatesan said. "The Rockefeller Foundation's history of supporting the ingenuity of innovators who have transformed and improved billions of lives of poor or vulnerable people is unparalleled, and I very much look forward to contributing to its legacy."

As Chairman of Microsoft India between 2004 and 2011, Mr. Venkatesan helped build India into Microsoft's second-largest presence in the world and one of its fastest growing markets. He was instrumental in creating Microsoft India's Project Shiksha, a computer literacy program which has so far trained over 40 million school children in India.

Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Venkatesan was the Chairman of Cummins India, a leader of power solutions and engines. He is also the author of an acclaimed book "Conquering the Chaos: Win in India, Win Everywhere," published by Harvard Business Review.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

For more than 100 years, The Rockefeller Foundation's mission has been to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world. Today, The Rockefeller Foundation pursues this mission through dual goals: advancing inclusive economies that expand opportunities for more broadly shared prosperity, and building resilience by helping people, communities and institutions prepare for, withstand, and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic stresses. To achieve these goals, The Rockefeller Foundation works at the intersection of four focus areas – advance health, revalue ecosystems, secure livelihoods, and transform cities – to address the root causes of emerging challenges and create systemic change. Together with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation strives to catalyze and scale transformative innovations, create unlikely partnerships that span sectors, and take risks others cannot – or will not.