Monique Villa
Monique Villa is a French journalist, business leader and women's rights advocate who is Chief Executive Officer of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a charity registered in the UK and US.
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
Villa began her career at Agence France Presse, where she worked as a correspondent. She was the Bureau Chief for the UK and Ireland from 1991 to 1996. She later served as Director for Strategy and Business Development at Agence France Presse, with responsibility for the company's major worldwide partnerships.
Reuters
From 2001 to 2008, Villa was Managing Director of Reuters Media, and Chairman of Action Images after 2005. In that role, she ran the picture and text news business for Reuters news agency.
In 2008, Villa was appointed CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, after the acquisition of Reuters Group by The Thomson Corporation. Under Villa, the Thomson Reuters Foundation created the Emergency Information Service, a free, local language, disaster-information service for victims of natural disasters. EIS was first triggered after the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010.
Villa also created TrustLaw, a marketplace to spread the practice of pro bono worldwide, that connects lawyers ready to work for free to NGOs and social entrepreneurs in need of legal assistance. Launched in July 2010, TrustLaw Connect has 750+ members (including 250 law firms and general counsels) in 140+ countries. In 2011, Villa founded TrustLaw Women, a global hub of news and information on women’s rights.
Villa is also a member of the steering committee for the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, which oversees the Institute’s activities. Funded in part by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the Institute conducts academic research on journalism and operates the Thomson Reuters Fellowship Programme.
Awards
In 2011, Monique Villa was ranked 43rd in Ethisphere’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people in Business Ethics.