• Former German Vice Chancellor to Build World-Class Charitable Organization Consistent with Commitment by HNA Group Founders
  
• Announces Global Empowerment Initiative Focused on Education, Entrepreneurship and Health
• Foundation Plans $200 Million in Contributions Over Next Five Years

NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hainan Cihang Charity Foundation, Inc. (the "Foundation"), the New York-based charitable organization established by the founders of HNA Group in 2016, today announced the appointment of Dr. Philipp Rösler as its inaugural Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Roesler served as Vice Chancellor of Germany, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, and Chairman of Germany's Free Democratic Party from 2011 to 2013. During his time as Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Dr. Roesler led efforts to expand vocational training and foster entrepreneurship, particularly in the German start-up community. A medical doctor by training, Dr. Roesler also previously held the role of Germany's Federal Minister of Health. Since 2014, he has served as a Member of the Managing Board and Head of Regional and Government Engagement at the World Economic Forum (WEF), a Geneva-based not-for-profit foundation that is committed to improving the state of the world. At WEF, Dr. Roesler was deeply involved in the Forum's work to transform the global humanitarian system by 2030, including through the creation of public-private partnerships. 

In his new executive leadership role at the Hainan Cihang Charity Foundation, Dr. Roesler is tasked with spearheading the development of a world-class charitable organization, consistent with the Foundation's mission and vision to give back to society and make the world a better place for all humankind. The Foundation plans to contribute up to $200 million toward charitable endeavors over the next five years, including its recent pledges to Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Calvary Hospital in New York, totaling over $30 million. 

Also announced today was the launch of the Foundation's Global Empowerment Initiative, which supports empowerment through education, entrepreneurship and health. The Foundation's early organizational efforts will focus on the Initiative's key philanthropic pillars, funding projects that provide disadvantaged people around the globe with the tools and opportunities to transform their lives. 

Dr. Roesler said, "I am honored to have this opportunity to lead the Foundation and help shape the deep and wide-ranging commitment to philanthropy laid out by HNA Group's founders into something truly sustainable and impactful. We intend for the Foundation to become one of the world's premier charitable institutions, beginning with our work on the Global Empowerment Initiative, which focuses on education, entrepreneurship and health as the wellsprings through which to make a lasting difference in poverty relief, refugee aid and many other important philanthropic causes. I look forward to helping build an institution that meets the highest international standards of excellence and collaborates effectively with others to deliver on the promise with which it has been endowed for many generations to come."

Adam Tan, chair of the Foundation's board of directors, said, "We are enormously delighted to welcome Dr. Roesler as the leader of the Foundation and look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead. Dr. Roesler's professional accomplishments in public policy, humanitarian work and health -- coupled with his own remarkable life story as an orphan adopted from Asia who blossomed in Europe to become a next generation global leader -- make him uniquely qualified for this role. Today's announcement marks an important step in the fulfillment of the HNA founders' mission to cultivate and share all the goodness life offers through meaningful, impactful philanthropy." 

About Hainan Cihang Charity Foundation

Hainan Cihang Charity Foundation, Inc. is a New York-based not-for-profit corporation with a global focus on empowerment through education, entrepreneurship and health. Building on a philanthropic legacy established by the founders of HNA Group across a range of causes aimed at making a positive difference in lives everywhere, the Foundation aims to become one of the world's leading private, charitable organizations. The Foundation has already begun efforts toward making over $30 million in donations to education and health causes and plans to contribute up to $200 million over the next five years.

Media Contacts

Hainan Cihang Charity Foundation
Daniel Workman
Edelman Public Relations
(202) 312-1088
Daniel.Workman@edelman.com 

HNA Group
Matt Benson / Robert Rendine / Brandon Messina Sard Verbinnen & Co.
(212) 687-8080

German-Speaking Media
Knut Engelmann
CNC - Communications & Network Consulting AG
+49 69 50 60 37 56 0
Knut.Engelmann@cnc-communications.com  

SOURCE Hainan Cihang Charity Foundation, Inc