Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Eduardo Martinez Appointed Chair Of World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council

Sep 25, 2013 3:35 PM ET

Atlanta, September 25, 2013 /3BL Media/ - UPS announced that Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation, has been appointed chair of The World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Catastrophic Risks (WEF-GAC) effective September 2013. During his one year tenure, Martinez will serve with co-vice chairs, Baroness Valerie Amos, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and Rodrigo Perez Mackenna, Minister of Housing and Urbanism and Minister of National Property of Chile. The Council will play a key collaborative role in the advancement of understanding and management of events that have a large-scale impact on vulnerable populations, human well-being, business operations and systems of government.

"I am honored to have been given the opportunity to represent UPS," said Martinez. "I look forward to working with the organization, its dedicated council members, and leveraging UPS's deep logistics expertise to build a more resilient world."

The appointment is recognition of Martinez's leadership of The UPS Foundation and its Disaster Relief Program which helps prepare communities for a crisis; provides them with urgent relief during a crisis, and also post-crisis recovery phase support. Last year, UPS contributed in excess of $6.5 million and supported more than 200 humanitarian relief programs in 35 countries. Martinez also represents UPS and chairs the World Economic Forum's Logistics Emergency Team, is a member of the Corporate Advisory Board for The National Council of La Raza, and serves on the Points of Light Institutes' Corporate Service Council. He also serves as the chair of the Corporate Development Council for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and sits on the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) Global Corporate Volunteer Council.

The council's primary goal is to gain a better understanding of catastrophic risks at the global, regional and local levels, to promote best practices aimed at building resilience and preparedness on response and post-disaster recovery.

Serving with Martinez are seventeen of the world's leading academics as well as public and private sector experts. Serving alongside Martinez are:

  • Shaun Donovan, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
  • Baroness Valerie Amos, Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations
  • Rodrigo Pérez Mackenna, Minister of Housing and Urbanism and Minister of National Property of Chile
  • Andrin Oswald, President, Vaccines and Diagnostics, Novartis AG
  • Michael Useem, Professor of Management and Director, Center for Leadership and Change, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
  • Margareta Wahlström, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations
  • Niyati Sareen, General Manger, Corporate Social Responsibility, Hindustan Construction Company
  • Bekele Geleta, Secretary-General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  • Victor Meyer, Global Head, Corporate Security and Business Continuity, Deutsche Bank AG
  • Satoru Nishikawa, Director-General, Japan Water Agency,
  • Sara Pantuliano, Head, Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute
  • Lauren Alexander Augustine, Director, Office of Special Projects on Risk, Resilience, and Extreme Events, The National Academy of Sciences
  • Randolph Kent, Director, Humanitarian Futures Programme, King's College London
  • Yuichi Ono, Professor, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University
  • Peter Guthrie, Professor, University of Cambridge
  • The Honorable Kirstjen Nielsen, Senior Fellow, Homeland Security Policy Institute
  • Nick Wildgoose, Global Corporate Leader, Supply Chain Product, Zurich Insurance Group

For bios of each of the members of the Catastrophic GAC members, please visit the WEF website.

About UPS

UPS (NYSE: UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including the transportation of packages and freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at UPS.com and its corporate blog can be found at blog.ups.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.