Monique Villa

Monique Villa
Occupation CEO, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Monique Villa is CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation and Founder of TrustLaw and Trust Women. She has been ranked twice among the world’s 100 most influential people in Business Ethics by Ethisphere.[1]

Education

Monique Villa was born in Paris, France. She studied Law and Political Science and has a diploma from the Centre de Formation des Journalistes de Paris.

Agence France-Presse

Monique spent the first part of her career at Agence France-Presse (AFP) where she held a number of senior journalistic and management positions. She reported for a number of years from Paris, Rome and London where she was bureau chief from 1991 to 1996. She then became Director of Strategy and Business Development at AFP headquarters in Paris, with responsibility for the agency’s major partnerships worldwide.

Reuters

From 2001 to 2008, Villa was Managing Director of Reuters Media and Chairman of Action Images. Monique managed the picture and text news business for Reuters from 2001. She transformed the picture business and negotiated important deals for Media and Editorial, including a partnership with the International Herald Tribune to jointly produce their business pages, both in print and online.

Thomson Reuters Foundation

In 2008, Villa was appointed CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, after the acquisition of Reuters Group by The Thomson Corporation.[2][3]

Since her appointment in 2008, she has launched a number of programs that leverage the expertise of Thomson Reuters to trigger change and empower people across the world.

Among them, TrustLaw, an award-winning service created in 2010 to spread the practice of pro bono worldwide by connecting the best law firms and corporate legal teams around the world with NGOs and social enterprises in need of free legal assistance.[4] Since its inception, TrustLaw has generated the equivalent of $70 million in pro bono support. Today, TrustLaw boasts over 3,000 members across 177 countries, including over 550 law firms and 2,450 high-impact social enterprises and NGOs. TrustLaw also publishes an annual Index of Pro Bono - which captures and analyzes global pro bono trends across the legal industry - as well as legal guidance on the protection of human rights and the available recourse for violations thereof.[5]

Villa is also the Founder of Trust Women,[6] a fast-growing global movement committed to advancing women's rights and fighting modern-day slavery. An action-oriented conference, the 2015 edition brought together 550 global leaders 60 countries and representing over 200 organizations.

As part of the Trust Women Conference's commitment to tangible action, Monique Villa announced the launch of the Stop Slavery Award, a new initiative by the Thomson Reuters Foundation[7] to recognize companies leading the fight against modern slavery in their supply chains. The Award, designed by world-renowned artist Anish Kapoor,[8] will be conferred for the first time in November 2016.

As a direct result of the Trust Women Conference, the Thomson Reuters Foundation worked with the office of the Manhattan District Attorney and top U.S. financial institutions - including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Barclays, TD Bank, American Express, Western Union – to issue international guidance aimed at helping the wider financial communities to identify and report irregularities in financial transactions linked to human trafficking.[9] With the success of the US initiative, the Thomson Reuters Foundation launched a European financial working group - bringing together the likes of Europol, the UK National Crime Agency and major European financial institutions.

In 2016, Monique played a pivotal role in launching the Stop Slavery Award to demonstrate that businesses can play a critical role in eradicating forced labour and guiding consumer decisions. The award is the very first global accolade of its kind and will be conferred on November 30, 2016, as an artwork designed by world‑renowned artist Sir Anish Kapoor. The awarded companies will receive the right to use the Stop Slavery Award logo for one year. The judging boardis composed of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi, global human rights and business expert John Ruggie, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus H. Vance Jr, Britain’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Kevin Hyland, Edelman President and CEO Richard Edelman, and international criminal prosecutor Patricia Sellers. Monique launched the award on CNN, BBC World News and at Baker & McKenzie in New York.

As part of its ongoing focus on women's rights, the Thomson Reuters Foundation also publishes an annual perception poll: in 2014, the poll focused on the most dangerous transport systems for women,[10] and in 2015 on the top five issues faced by women working in G20 countries.[11][12]

Under Villa’s leadership, the Foundation also strengthened its commitment to free and independent journalism. Its award winning editorial team covers the issues that mainstream media often forgets: from human rights abuses to the human impact of climate change, to the social damage poised by endemic corruption; the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, is devoted to innovative and comparative international research; and a global network of journalists provides media training to hundreds of reporters around the world.

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, Monique Villa's team set up and launched Aswat Masriya[13] an independent and unbiased political news website which quickly established itself as an authoritative mainstream source of information, becoming an essential tool for Egypt’s transition to democracy. Ahead of the country's first general elections in November 2015, the Thomson Reuters Foundation also launched Myanmar Now, a new portal dedicated to free and independent journalism in Myanmar led by Burmese journalists.

Villa is also a member of the steering committee for the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, which oversees the Institute’s activities.[14] Funded in part by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the Institute conducts academic research on journalism and operates the Thomson Reuters Fellowship Programme.[15]

Villa is also a board member of The Global Editors Network, the International News Safety Network, and Transparentem.

Awards

Monique received the 2015 Champions for Change Award for her vision and effort in the fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery.[16] Under Villa, the Foundation has received numerous awards, including a Webby Award for Best News Website; a SOPA Award for Excellence in Human Rights Reporting, a Charity Award for Advice, Support, and Advocacy, and a Communicator Award for Excellence.

In 2014, Monique Villa was ranked 37th in Ethisphere’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people in Business Ethics.[17]

In 2011, Monique Villa was ranked 43rd in Ethisphere’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people in Business Ethics.[18]

External Links and Media Coverage

References

  1. ↑ http://ethisphere.com/magazine/100-most-influential-in-business/
  2. ↑ "Thomson Reuters Announces New Leadership Team for Foundation". PR News Wire. 28 April. Retrieved 20 May 2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ↑ "Thomson Completes Acquisition of Reuters; Thomson Reuters Shares Begin Trading Today". Thomson Reuters. 17 April 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  4. ↑ http://business.financialpost.com/2010/06/23/thomson-reuters-launches-trustlaw/
  5. ↑ "Thomson Reuters Foundation | Publication Library". www.trust.org. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  6. ↑ Trust Women Conference
  7. ↑ "Stop Slavery Awards | Trust Women Conference". www.trustwomenconf.com. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  8. ↑ "Trust Women 2015 - Anish Kapoor Logo".
  9. ↑ http://www.trust.org/item/20140110101411-vphyw/
  10. ↑ "Most dangerous transport systems for women". www.trust.org. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  11. ↑ "The 5 key issues facing women working in the G20". www.womenatworkpoll.com. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  12. ↑ "Women at Work Poll 2015: Media Coverage".
  13. ↑ http://blog.thomsonreuters.com/index.php/official-launch-of-aswat-masriya/
  14. ↑ "Steering Committee". Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  15. ↑ "Annual Report 2010-2011" (PDF). Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  16. ↑ "Monique Villa's ICRW Champions for Change Awards acceptance remarks | Trust Women Conference". www.trustwomenconf.com. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
  17. ↑ http://ethisphere.com/magazine/100-most-influential-in-business
  18. ↑ "2011 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics". Ethisphere. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
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