Bio

Anderson Tanoto is a member of the executive committee of Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) and Managing Director of RGE – a group of world-class companies in resource-based manufacturing industries operating in Indonesia, China, Brazil, Spain and Canada, with over US$30 billion in assets and a workforce of over 60,000 people. He provides strategic direction on the various sustainability and conservation initiatives undertaken by APRIL, one of which is the multi-stakeholder Riau Ecosystem Restoration (RER) programme in partnership with Fauna & Flora International and BIDARA located in Sumatra, Indonesia which covers 150,000 hectares of unique peat swamp in Kampar Peninsula. Anderson is also instrumental in the design of the innovative Fire Free Village Programme which aims to move the focus from suppression to prevention. The program enables villages in Riau, Indonesia, to adopt a zero-burn policy as part of APRIL’s commitment to combating fire & haze problems with increasingly international ramifications. He spends most of his time overseeing APRIL’s main operations in Kerinci, also located in Riau, Indonesia. Anderson is passionate about community development and philanthropy. He is actively involved in the Tanoto Foundation, which was founded in 1981 by the Tanoto family to alleviate poverty through education, empowerment and enhancement of quality of lives. As a Board member of the Foundation, Anderson drives various foundation initiatives focusing on the future generation of Indonesia, such as the Tanoto Entrepreneurship Series. Prior to joining the family’s business, Anderson was a consultant at Bain & Company, focusing on consumer products and financial services. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School.