Dear Friend,

I am grateful for you -- members, partners, activists, and staff who make up this courageous Corporate Accountability community. Like you, I’m determined to keep challenging corporate power, especially in this time of uncertainty. While the challenges are many, so are the opportunities to shape the course of history.

I’m emboldened by our mission -- so needed in this moment -- and inspired by the people who are carrying it out.

To that end, I’m very pleased to announce Corporate Accountability’s incoming executive director: Ari Belathar.

Ari (they/them) brings abundant campaign experience, leadership skills, and a strong vision. They will step into this role next month, and will support Corporate Accountability in deepening our impact -- especially as we continue to put our power and resources behind Global South campaigning.

Here are just a few highlights:

Ari got their start as a student activist in Mexico, defending their university from a privatization attempt.
They bring more than 15 years experience organizing for social justice on the local, national, and international levels, at organizations including Resource Generation and Jewish Voice for Peace.
They worked on and led a range of campaigns in Latin America and the U.S., challenging corporations such as Coca-Cola and Hewlett Packard, organizing urgent-action human rights campaigns, and mobilizing resistance to government and corporate policies responsible for widespread poverty.
Their management experience includes having led large, diverse, and/or remote teams toward mission-driven impact by building trust, facilitating effective communication, and strengthening infrastructure. Most recently, they served as the executive director of the Boston Cyclists Union, where during a time of organizational change, they ensured the financial and operational stability of the organization.

Meet our new executive director

Learn more

As a board, we appreciate the specificity and depth of Ari’s political analysis. We were also inspired by their vision for Corporate Accountability to be a force for democracy and justice. Ari understands the power dynamics that underpin systemic racism and oppression, and this informs their collaborative, compassionate approach to leadership.

Ari also brings the drive, and skills to win corporate campaigns. They have first-hand experience of the destructive and abusive power of corporations -- and how resistance and organizing can successfully create change. They bring an international solidarity approach to corporate campaigning, and they know that the most effective campaigns are informed and led by the people and communities on the ground.

The board believes Ari’s approach, skills, and potential are a dynamic combination that provides Corporate Accountability with the leadership we need in this moment. Ari’s expertise compliments the strengths of the organization and will position us to be even more effective in the coming years as we deepen and sharpen our campaigning.

Entering into this next phase of our campaigning under Ari’s strong and aligned leadership will be an important moment of transition for Corporate Accountability. It’s the result of a rigorous, innovative, and thoughtful process led by a team of staff and board, alongside consultants at Strategy for Social Change.

I’m also pleased that as Ari joins us in February, we’ll keep a strong thread of continuity in this transitional time as outgoing Executive Director Patti Lynn stays at Corporate Accountability in a new role. She will move fully into campaigning and fundraising to support and build power behind our mission.

I hope you will take a moment to read more about Ari and all they will bring to the work. And please join me in welcoming them into the extraordinary community that is Corporate Accountability.

Onward,

Akinbode Oluwafemi
Pronouns: he/him/his
Board Chair
Corporate Accountability

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Corporate Accountability stops transnational corporations from devastating democracy, trampling human rights, and destroying our planet. We are building a world rooted in justice where corporations answer to people, not the other way around -- a world where every person has access to clean water, healthy food, a safe place to live, and the opportunity to reach their full human potential.

State Disclosures.

Write to us at [email protected] or call us at +1-800-688-8797 (U.S.).

Corporate Accountability
10 Milk St, Suite 610, Boston, MA 02108

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