Gary White is an observer, an innovator, and a problem-solver. As a passionate, problem-solver he has created solutions that have empowered millions of people in need with access to safe water and sanitation.
Gary is the CEO and co-founder of Water.org and WaterEquity. He brings 30 years of experience in sustainable innovation in water and sanitation.
As a nonprofit organization Water.org focuses on financing, harnesses philanthropy to correct market failures, empowering people in the developing world to gain access to safe water and sanitation. Water.org is the resulting organization of the July 2009 merger between WaterPartners, co-founded by Gary in 1990, and H2O Africa, co-founded by actor Matt Damon. He developed Water.org’s WaterCredit Initiative, creating new financing options for families living in poverty to meet their water and sanitation needs. He also developed WaterEquity, an asset manager that raises and invests capital in water and sanitation enterprises serving the water and sanitation needs of people living in poverty.
Gary is a leading advisor in the water and sanitation space, counseling organizations such as the Skoll Foundation, MasterCard Foundation, PepsiCo Foundation, IKEA Foundation, Caterpillar Foundation, and the Clinton Global Initiative on responses to the global water crisis. He is also a founding board member of the Millennium Water Alliance and Water Advocates. Named to TIME magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people, Gary has been awarded the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship, named to the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Water, and selected as Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur and a Skoll Foundation Social Entrepreneur.
Gary’s educational credentials include three degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Missouri University of Science & Technology.
Clean Water • Economic Opportunity • Environmental Sustainability • Financial Services • Health • Human Rights • Living Conditions • Sanitation • Water Management • Women's and Girls' Education
Central and Southern Asia, Eastern and Southern Africa, North America, South America, Southeast Asia
