Belinda Tanoto

After graduation, Belinda spent a year as an analyst at Morgan Stanley.[5] Belinda works in Royal Golden Eagle (RGE)’s palm oil business, serving as a member of the Management Committee of RGE-managed Apical Group.[6] responsible for the strategic management of the palm oil group.[7] As senior commercial manager, she also drives trading and business development activities for RGE's downstream palm oil business.[8]

As a member of the Board of Trustees at the Tanoto Foundation, Belinda's work focuses on improving access to quality education and empowerment opportunities that contribute to poverty reduction.[9] In her role, Belinda contributes to the vision of the Foundation while helping to shape the Foundation's key philanthropic strategies.[10] As part of this process, she spends time on the ground with stakeholders to better understand the real issues they encounter and the root causes of poverty in Indonesia and beyond.[3]

Belinda has also participated in public forums and fund raisers to advocate the Foundation's mission and programs, sharing her perspectives on philanthropy, the value of education and the importance of public-private collaboration in achieving true social change.[11] She was a speaker at the 2016 UBS Philanthropy Forum Asia where she shared insights into how the Foundation tackles complex and challenging issues in Indonesia's education system.[12] She also participated in the Channel NewsAsia Perspectives programme twice as a panelist, speaking on inequality in Asia in 2015 and on social inclusion in 2017.[13][14] Additionally, she was a speaker at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2017, where innovative approaches to philanthropy were discussed.[15]

Given the Foundation's emphasis on education as a key pillar for poverty alleviation, Belinda has been spearheading the Foundation's investments in rural schools in Indonesia since 2009, specifically in school leadership, teacher training and literacy. She has stated that the greatest innovations in Education over the next decade will come from classroom teachers and educators on the ground.[6]

Belinda works with various stakeholders to improve the quality of education, increase the competency of teachers, and provide adequate facilities and infrastructure for schools.[16] She engages teachers on topics including effective pedagogical techniques, and creative teaching methodology and leadership. She also interacts with students and parents, seeking feedback on how the foundation can improve its programs.[10]

On the issue of rural poverty, she recently collaborated with major philanthropists and various aid agencies, including the United Nations Development Program, on a landscape mapping of regional efforts. Her goal is to form strategic partnerships to bring about serious change.[17]

Her activism work also includes promoting social entrepreneurship, supporting women's empowerment and identifying donations to medical research bodies. She served as a judge for the inaugural Crossing the Chasm Challenge in Singapore in 2016, organized by the Asia Centre for Social Enterprises and Philanthropy (ACSEP) at the National University of Singapore. Students from university worked with industry mentors to help top ASEAN social enterprises devise marketing plans and pitches for ways to end poverty.[18][19]