Catherine Zennstrom

Catherine Zennström, "is chair and co-founder of Zennström Philanthropies, established in 2007 by Catherine and her husband Niklas. Zennström Philanthropies' engagement is centred around human rights and climate change. Catherine focuses on the human rights portfolio as well as promoting best practice in philanthropy. She has had a deep commitment in the voluntary sector for many years, both as a volunteer and a philanthropist. From 2002 to 2006, she worked as a full time volunteer at Médecins Sans Frontières and Amnesty International in their London offices. In 2006, she became a trustee of Refuge (a UK national charity fighting domestic violence), and in 2007 became a member of the Paris Committee for Human Rights Watch and the Global Philanthropy Forum. The next year Catherine joined the international board of directors of Human Rights Watch and became a trustee of the Institute for Philanthropy. She is also a member of International Human Rights Funders Group and The Philanthropy Workshop Alumni Group (TPW co-hort 12).

"Before moving to London, Catherine worked for 10 years in the Telecom industry for different international companies in Sweden, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and France. She is a French citizen and was educated in California and France, and received a BA in Business Administration from the University of Humberside, Hull, UK."

Affiliations

• Director, Institute for Philanthropy
• Director, Human Rights Watch