BOARD
LEADERSHIP
Board
The Safe Water Network board includes a group of highly committed business and civic leaders dedicated to realizing new solutions that will materially improve the health and livelihoods of people now lacking access to safe water.
Chair
Josh Weston
Retired Chairman & CEO, Automatic Data Processing
Members
Rita Colwell, PhD
Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; Former Director, National Science Foundation
Richard Delaney
SVP, International Operations, PepsiCo, Inc.
Robert Forrester
President & CEO, Newman’s Own Foundation
Christina Gold
Retired President and CEO, The Western Union Company
Hank Greenberg
Chairman & CEO, C.V. Starr & Co, Inc.
Harold Newman
Partner, Neuberger Berman
Linda Nordstrom
Northstream Development
Gerry Roche
Chairman Emeritus, Heidrick & Struggles
John Whitehead
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State; Former Co-Chair, Goldman Sachs
Joanne Woodward-Newman
Board Member, Newman's Own Foundation
Back to Top Leadership
Kurt Soderlund, Chief Executive Officer
Kurt Soderlund is the founding CEO of Safe Water Network. Previously Kurt co-founded NorthStar Partners, and an internet start-up funded by leading technology firms. Prior to that, Kurt was Assistant to the President at the New School University in New York City. He supported new initiatives at the university and traveled extensively to support international projects and the president’s work as Chairman of Human Rights Watch. Kurt has degrees from Cornell University and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Amanda Gimble, Vice President, Strategy & Partnerships
Amanda Gimble spent most of her career in investment banking and consulting. She was First Vice President and co-head of Corporate Strategy at Merrill Lynch. Prior to that, Amanda was a Senior Consultant at KPMG Peat Marwick. She consulted to nonprofit organizations before joining Safe Water Network in 2008. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Hunter College, and a master's degree in management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is a member of the Microfinance Committee of the Financial Women’s Association.
Bob Stea, Vice President, Technology Systems
Bob Stea is an environmental engineer. Prior to joining Safe Water Network in 2008, Bob was a Senior Research Engineer at PepsiCo focusing on water issues and water protection strategies. Previously Bob was a Regulatory Engineer with the State Government of North Carolina, and also spent seven years in Africa working on municipal and community water projects. He holds Master’s degrees in engineering and public health, and a Bachelor of Science degree from MIT. He is a licensed professional engineer and a member of the IWA, AWWA, and on the NSF Joint Committee of Drinking Water Treatment Units.
Ravindra Sewak, India Country Director
Ravindra Sewak joined Safe Water Network in 2009, bringing extensive technical and operating experience in the field of water. Ravi spent most of his career at PepsiCo where, most recently, he was Resource Sustainability Director for PepsiCo, India. Previously, he had diverse roles including Franchise Director, India, EVP, Supply Chain, VP Marketing Equipment, and Country Manager, Qatar, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. He is a Mechanical Engineer with an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Ravi is a member of the National Committee on Water.
Charles Nimako, Director, Africa Initiatives
Charles Nimako leads the development, implementation and oversight of current and future Safe Water Network initiatives in Ghana and West Africa. He brings expertise in distribution, logistics and operations to our WaterHealth Centres in Ghana. Prior to joining Safe Water Network, Mr. Nimako was the CEO of PepsiCo Bottler in Ghana. In this capacity, he led the integration and consolidation of business after purchase of PepsiCo franchise from Beverage Investments Ghana Limited. Mr. Nimako was also franchise operations manager for East Africa. Previously, he was a consultant with McKinsey & Company in South Africa.A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Mr. Nimako holds an MBA in management from Stanford University and has lived and worked in the United States, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Angola, and Ghana.
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