Christopher Wilson
| Christopher Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 21, 1962 London, England |
| 🏫 Education |
|
| 💼 Occupation |
|
| 📆 Years active | 1987–present |
| Title | Co-founder of Water and Healthcare (WAH) Foundation |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Tan Su Shan (m. 1996) |
| 👶 Children | 2 |
| 🏅 Awards |
|
Christopher Wilson is a social entrepreneur, philanthropy advocate, and finance professional in Singapore and Hong Kong.[1] Wilson co-founded Water and Healthcare Foundation[2] in 2008, a non-governmental organization rural communities in Cambodia.[1] The nonprofit focuses on the well-being of women and children by delivering clean water to schools and running medical training programs.[1]
Personal life[edit]
Wilson was born in England and had a very traditional English upbringing.[3] He studied at University of Manchester and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on a scholarship.[4][5] Today, he is a Singapore national.[1] In 1996, he married Tan Su Shan,[6] a group head of institutional banking at DBS Bank.[7] Wilson continues to involve the wife[8] and his two children, Talisa and Kai, in his philanthropic work.[3][6]
Career[edit]
Prior to his philanthropic work, Wilson was an officer in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in Northern Ireland.[7] He also maintained an active duty in The Sultanate of Oman[7] on the Yemen-Oman border[9] and served in Germany.[4] Although this military experience traumatized him, it later became a wake-up call that led him to his philanthropic work.[6] In 1987, Wilson joined asset manager GT Management in London. In 1990, he relocated to Singapore[6] to set up the South East Asian office of the firm.[7] Soon after, the founder and chairman of Swiss-based Union Bancair Privee, Edgar de Picciotto, recruited him to run and expand the Asian operations of the bank.[7] Wilson then moved to Hong Kong to build and manage the bank's team in the region. From 1993 to 1995, Wilson was the head of private banking of Union Bancair Privee in Asia.[7] In the end of 1995, he moved to a British bank, Coutts or know as The Queen's Bank, holding a senior management position in Hong Kong and Singapore.[7]
Wilson co-founded Water and Healthcare (WAH) Foundation[7] in 2008 in Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia. In 2019, Wilson was appointed as a philanthropy ambassador by a Singapore-based multi-family office, Golden Equator Wealth.[10] His main role a philanthropy ambassador is to educate and mentor wealthy families on impact investing.[7] Through the work at WAH Foundation, Wilson encourages families[9] to meaningfully use their family wealth to create social impact.[7] Wilson also runs a technology advisory business Kai Capital Partners[5] and plays an advisory role with Virtuosos,[11] a Hungary-developed talent program for children.[1]
Philanthropy Work[edit]
In 2006, he co-founded WAH Foundation with a Cambodian friend whom he met through his work as a private banker.[9] WAH Foundation was initially named Social Capital Venture and registered as a private venture in 2008.[9] It was subsequently registered as a 501(c)(3) organization and named WAH Foundation.[6][9] Wilson believes in sustainability over the traditional model of philanthropic work of donating money and walking away.[7] Through WAH Foundation, Wilson provided clean water and healthcare services for women, children, and local communities in Kampong Chhnang.[9]
WAH Foundation's flagship program has been installing bicycle-driven clean water systems in schools[12] located in rural villages[13] across Kampong Chnnang, Cambodia. The idea started with a chat between Wilson and the founder of Hyflux, Olivia Lum, which led to the development of a water filtration system. WAH Foundation's first water filter was set up in a school in the city in 2010.[9] It aims at installing a clean water system at each of the 549 schools in Kampong Chhnang.[9] Additionally, the foundation also provides the same water system at local hospitals, health centers, and village communities.[11]
Another area of work that Wilson focuses on at WAH Foundation is providing training for health care professionals to address maternal and child mortality.[9] Through the partnership that he started with KK Women's and Children's Hospital and Mount Alvernia Hospital in Singapore, WAH Foundation initiated a midwife training program for more than 200 midwives in 2013.[9] The program brought down the mortality rate in the city by more than 30%.[9] Wilson continues to gain support for WAH Foundation by working with Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology,[14] Savour,[11] Unilever, The Silent Foundation, YMCA Singapore, Berge Bulk's Marshall Foundation, and a makeup vlogger, Carli Bybel.[6]
Boards, Honors, and Awards[edit]
- Strategy Thought Partner of Ashoka's 2016 Globalizer Singapore[13]
- Board member of VIVA Foundation[15]
- Forbes Asia's Heroes of Philanthropy 2012[16]
- The Peak Magazine Game Changers Philanthropy Award 2014
- Singapore Tatler 2015 Award for Community Service[17]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Christopher Wilson - Philanthropy Ambassador | Golden Equator Wealth". www.goldenequatorwealth.com. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ "A Minute with Christopher Wilson". Prestige Online - Singapore. 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sing, Melissa. "Inspired Legacies: Christopher Wilson". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "FWA - Financial Women's Association of Singapore". www.fwasg.org. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Man who makes charity his business 生命之水". ICON Singapore. 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Christopher Wilson: Drink to your Health". Prestige Online - Indonesia. 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 "Former banker is building a contemporary philanthropy structure". zh.theasset.com. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ "Tan Su Shan - Woman of Style and Substance". www.businesstimes.com.sg. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 Wei, Chong Seow. "The Gift Of Life". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ "Golden Equator Appoints Renowned Philanthropy Advocate Christopher Wilson as Philanthropy Ambassador". www.goldenequatorwealth.com. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Crusaders of Compassion: Christopher Wilson | A Magazine Singapore". read-a.com. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ "What's In My Portfolio: Christopher Wilson". PORTFOLIO Magazine. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "2016 Globalizer Singapore - Strategy Thought Partners | Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker". www.ashoka.org. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ "New Hopes For The New Year | A Magazine Singapore". read-a.com. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ "Board of Directors | VIVA Foundation for children with cancer". www.viva.sg. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ "Christopher Wilson". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ↑ Lee, Natalie. "Singapore Tatler Ball 2015: Awards - Past and present". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
This article "Christopher Wilson (philanthropy advocate)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Christopher Wilson (philanthropy advocate). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
