Alistair Nicholas

Alistair is a citizen of the world – quite literally. He was born in Kenya of mixed heritage (Russian, German, Portugese, Indian and Irish), and he has lived in India, Australia, the US and China. Perhaps it was his early life in Kenya and India that shaped his interest in development issues and corporate social responsibility. But he has certainly been interested in the subject both at the strategic level and the executional level, even involving his family in such activities as tree planting in Sichuan Province, China, and planting grass to counter desertification in Inner Mongolia. Alistair’s career has covered journalism, academia, politics, diplomacy and in-house and agency corporate communication roles. Prior to moving to China, Alistair was Australia’s Trade Commissioner to the World Bank and United Nations, based in the country’s embassy in Washington, D.C. Based in Beijing since 2000, Alistair has advised a range of multinational corporations on social responsibility strategies and programs for the Asian region. Alistair co-authored a book on the privatization of welfare services in Australia that argued that the private sector was better equipped to deliver welfare services than government. Alistair holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Science from the University of New South Wales and a Certificate in Executive Leadership from Cornell University.