Our team
Our strategy is driven by our skilled people
Meet our diverse team of passionate professionals working towards a collective vision of a just and regenerative economy.
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Leslie Johnston
CEO
As its founding CEO, Leslie Johnston leads the execution of Laudes Foundation’s strategy to deliver on its mission to accelerate the transition to a green, fair and inclusive economy.
Leslie currently serves on the boards of Impact Europe as Chair, Fashion for Good BV, Built by Nature Stichting (as Vice Chair), Climate Resilience for All as well as University College London’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose Advisory Board.
Leslie has over 25 years of management experience across business, entrepreneurship, development, and philanthropy. Previously, she headed C&A Foundation as its first Executive Director, repositioning it as a global catalyst to make fashion a force for good. She served as Executive Director of the Argidius Foundation, Deputy Director for TechnoServe in Africa and a management consultant for McKinsey & Company.
Leslie lives in Zug, Switzerland with her husband and two teenage sons.
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Amol Mehra
Director of Industry Programmes
Amol is a recognised leader in the field of business and human rights and serves as the Director of Industry Programmes at Laudes. Based in Amsterdam, Amol oversees global programmes that deploy philanthropic funding to inspire and challenge industry to transition to a green, fair and inclusive economy. Amol also serves as a Founding Member of Funders Organized for Rights in the Global Economy and a Board Member of the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, a Board Member of EarthRights International, a Board Member of Built by Nature and on the Advisory Council for the Center for Business and Human Rights at NYU Stern. Previously, Amol was Managing Director of the Freedom Fund in New York and the founding Executive Director of the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) in Washington D.C.
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Katy Hartley
Director of Strategy, Innovation and Narratives
Katy is the Director of Strategy, Innovation and Narratives managing a team spanning strategy development, innovation and futuring, brand and communications and the grantmaking programme on narratives. In the last 25 years, Katy has worked in the fields of philanthropy, strategy, stakeholder engagement and partnership building. Since 2016, Katy has worked with the Brenninkmeijer family across Porticus and COFRA. She is also Chair of the Board of The Partnering Initiative and a board member for the Fashion for Good Museum. In her spare time, Katy can be found riding Icelandic horses, swimming in the sea, or planning adventures for her family.
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Lee Alexander Risby
Director of Effective Philanthropy
Lee is the Director of Effective Philanthropy at Laudes and directs the foundation in measuring, evaluating and learning from impact. He also leads Laudes’ efforts to strengthen partners’ capacities and integrate gender, equity and inclusion across the programmes. Lee’s career has taken him to over 35 countries, and he previously led the EP and Impact & Communications teams at C&A Foundation. Prior to that, he worked in various evaluation positions at the Global Environment Facility at the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank, focusing mainly on assessing the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation, climate mitigation, ozone-depleting chemical phase-out, gender and governance programs in the global south and former Soviet Union. Outside of work, Lee enjoys cross-fit and weightlifting with his wife, and hiking and skiing in Switzerland.
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Alice Haugh
Senior Programme Manager, Built Environment
Alice is a Senior Programme Manager, focusing on delivering a just transition for the Built Environment and is based in Amsterdam. Alice is a qualified architect and was named in the world’s top 100 female futurists. She previously worked at leading Dutch architecture studios Space&Matter and UNStudio, as well as on several large developments in London. Alice also teaches architecture students to take a more-than-human approach to city-making, by integrating nature and just transition into design.
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Andwele Bryan
Head of Gender, Equity and Social Inclusion
Andwele is the Head of Gender Equity & Social Inclusion (GESI) and is responsible for leading a robust approach to GESI integration to support the capacity strengthening of Laudes teams and grant partners. Now based in the Netherlands, Andwele previously worked for various NGOs spearheading gender-responsive programming and his passion for equity, inclusion and intercultural relations has led him to live in several African countries, as well as Lebanon and Canada.
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Angelica Salazar
Programme Officer, Finance and Capital Markets
Angélica is a Programme Officer within the Finance & Capital Markets team. She provides effective infrastructure and support to our partners while also leading the efforts to integrate a GESI lens throughout the programme's grant portfolio. Previously, she worked in the NGO sector, where she led multi-stakeholder sustainability projects aimed at translating research data into policy action. Angélica loves cooking and when she's not testing new recipes, she enjoys walking in London.
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Barbara Hoekstra
Executive Assistant
Barbara is an Executive Assistant to the MT supporting Laudes’ Director of Strategy Innovation and Narratives, as well as the Director of Industry Programmes. Based in Amsterdam, she is known for her can-do attitude and organisational skills. She is also a member of the Feestcommissie. Previously, Barbara worked for BMW Nederland and Nyenrode Business Universiteit. In her spare time, she does pilates and helps at the local Voedselbank.
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Bauke ter Borg
Programme Manager, Fashion
Bauke is a Programme Manager within Laudes’ Fashion team, managing the partnerships that contribute to building a more sustainable and equitable fashion industry. She previously worked as a policy advisor in the Dutch parliament, gaining experience in how circular economic policies are made. Bauke’s studies and work have resulted in ventures across the globe and she now lives in Rotterdam. Bauke is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys trail running, multi-day hiking treks, cycling and camping.
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Belén Giaquinta
Organisational Strengthening and Learning Manager
Belén works as an Organisational Strengthening and Learning Manager championing partner strengthening through opportunities such as the Nonprofit Builder and the Partner Fund. She also supports Laudes’ ambition to become a learning organisation. Belén has a background in civil society resilience, gender equity and youth participation. She is based in London but hails from Argentina and you can always find her sipping her mate in the mornings.
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Charlotte Dannhauser
Executive Assistant to the CEO
Charlotte is an Executive Assistant at Laudes Foundation and loves connecting the multiple dots that make up an administrator’s life. Having spent most of her career in the corporate sector (living in several African countries), Charlotte has found her three years working in philanthropy to be rewarding, meaningful and very necessary. In her spare time, Charlotte can be found enjoying long walks on the beach or exploring new cities, reading or watching movies.
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Chloe de Roos Feinberg
Senior Manager, Effective Philanthropy
Chloe is the Business Manager to the CEO and works across a range of internal and partner-facing initiatives. With a passion for governance and organisational management and development, she is closely involved with Laudes’ partners in building the field for climate in philanthropy. Chloe previously worked as a Programme Manager on C&A Foundation’s Circular Fashion team and was COO of Circle Economy. Based in Amsterdam, Chloe writes creatively, is active and is raising her two children.
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Cedric Pacheco
Senior Programme Manager, Finance and Capital Markets
Cedric is a Senior Programme Manager within the Finance and Capital Markets team. During eight years of finance experience in Paris and London, Cedric focused on financial regulations and public affairs at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe and worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, NYSE Euronext and Global Private Equity. He holds an MBA from ESCP Europe and a Magistère of Finance from the Panthéon-Sorbonne University. Cedric is French and Portuguese, and has a daughter.
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Clare Hierons
Head of Finance and Capital Markets
Clare is Head of the Finance and Capital Markets Programme and leads Laudes’ work to transform the finance system and mobilise investment in pursuit of a just transition. Starting her non-profit career at the Carbon Trust, Clare became the CEO of Carbon Leapfrog – a community energy charity – before setting up a foundation for the Energy Saving Trust. Her switch to sustainable finance led to the role of COO at both Accounting for Sustainability and ShareAction. Outside of work, Clare is on the Advisory Council for the Investor Alliance for Human Rights and the board of Energy Local CIC and has an insatiable appetite for antiques - especially those of the arts and crafts movement.
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Denise Brennan
Senior Learning Manager
Denise supports Laudes’ ambition to become a learning organisation by working with teams across the foundation to embed learning practices that create space for problem-solving, knowledge exchange and programme adaptation. Denise is proud to work with a group of learning champions who are enthusiastic and motivated to cultivate a culture of learning and is helping to drive Laudes’ efforts forward.
Laudes India team
Laudes India LLP is a service organisation, providing support services for Laudes Foundation.
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Anita Chester
Head of Fashion
Anita is the Head of Fashion and Materials. With many years of experience in the apparel supply chain behind her, she believes in harnessing the power of markets to drive inclusive, climate and nature-positive growth for the industry. She is passionate about accelerating a shift to next-gen fibres and the system-wide scaling of regenerative agricultural practices. Anita is also on the board of the Organic Cotton Accelerator and the Investor Advisory Board of the Good Fashion Fund. Based in India, she likes to visit wildlife sanctuaries or experiment in the kitchen.
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Anuradha Balaji
Administrative Support
Anuradha provides administrative support for Laudes’ programme heads and is located in India. As a seasoned administrative and operations professional, she excels in office administration, orchestrating successful business meetings and events, fostering collaboration with colleagues and partners worldwide, and crafting refined business communications. Beyond work, Anuradha enjoys experimenting with new vegan recipes, indulging in reading and enriching her mind with articles on mindfulness.
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Lakshmi Poti
Senior Programme Manager, Fashion
Lakshmi is a Senior Programme Manager in the Fashion programme and is working to accelerate the industry’s transition to become inclusive, climate and nature-positive. She leads the programme’s efforts in legislation and scaling next-generation and circular materials. Lakshmi has previously worked with consulting firms Intellecap, Deloitte and EY, and brings expertise in strategy and development consulting, impact investing and social entrepreneurship.
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Karan Kumar
Programme Manager, Fashion
Karan is a Programme Manager at Laudes and focuses on advancing and enabling a circular economy in fashion to mitigate the industry’s impacts on people and planet. He strongly believes in the power of youth to drive tangible change and has co-founded an initiative to advance climate action through queer liberation. Karan is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Community, an UNLEASH Innovation Lab talent, and has been selected to represent the voice of young people at #WEF23.
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Sameer Taware
Programme Manager, Labour Rights
Sameer is a Programme Manager and works to strengthen Labour Rights across industry transformation. As a seasoned human rights advocate, he is passionate about movement building, advancing the rights of climate-vulnerable communities, and trust-based philanthropy. Sameer specialises in the areas of climate finance, corporate accountability and the Just Transition Framework. Outside the office, Sameer enjoys Sufi music, walking in the mountains and spending time with family.
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Varun Joseph
Programme Manager, Fashion
Varun is a Programme Manager within the Fashion team, supporting the industry’s just and equitable transition. He focuses on testing systematic-level approaches and building tools to support impact and enable contributions to climate, people and nature. He has over 12 years of experience in climate action and corporate sustainability working with organisations across the world. Varun can often be found cycling around Delhi or in a bouldering gym attempting to solve a climbing "problem".
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Litul Baruah
Senior Programme Manager, Fashion
Litul is a Senior Programme Manager working to help the fashion industry set ambitious climate, nature and people goals through innovative business models. Based in New Delhi, he leads Laudes’ efforts to promote regenerative agriculture production landscapes. Previously, Litul held public policy research and consulting roles and his expertise lies in data, economics and sustainability strategies. He finds solace in spending time on his farm in Assam.
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Puneet Chugh
Grant Operations Analyst
Puneet serves as a Grant Operations Analyst in the Effective Philanthropy team, ensuring that the processes, systems and data required for efficiently managing grant-making are in place. Based in India, Puneet is eager to assist her skilled and dedicated colleagues in their efforts to achieve a fair and sustainable economy.
Vacancies
Our work is our passion. To join our ambitious, collaborative global team, explore available vacancies.
Executive Assistant to the Management Team
- Amsterdam
- Full-time
- Philanthropy
Job Description
The Executive Assistant to the Management Team will provide general support to the Laudes Foundation Management team, while directly supporting the two Amsterdam-based MT members, in its effectiveness and execution by providing high-level executive support in a fast-paced and changing environment.
Key responsiblities
MT guidance. Act as thought partner and trusted advisor to the MT; make sure they know what they need to know, guide them toward making right decisions about use of time and loop in relevant parties if needed
Agenda Management. Pro-actively manage the complex agenda of the MT. Each day you will be problem-solving and multi-tasking, assuming responsibility for planning, organising and executing internal and external meetings, conference calls, VC’s, lunches/dinners and international events. Pro-actively manage the complex agenda of the Laudes Board, Strategy, and Investment Committee meetings, events, off-sites, and working sessions
Collaboration. Collaborating with internal and external stakeholders and other administrative contacts in creating a smooth workflow and maintaining follow-through
Travel Management. Anticipate and coordinate point-to-point travel needs as necessary, including booking all travel and hotels, directions and ground transportation
Support. Process expenses on a timely basis. Provide back-up support to the assistant of the CEO on a regular basis. Provide back-up support to the Business Manager for making MT minutes. Perform other duties as assigned or required; responsibilities may vary.