Nesta have announced that Ravi Gurumurthy will join as its new Chief Executive at the end of the year. Ravi Gurumurthy, currently Chief Innovation Officer and founder of the Airbel Center at the International Rescue Committee in New York, will replace Geoff Mulgan, who has led Nesta since 2011.

Welcoming the appointment, Sir John Gieve, Chair of Nesta’s Board of Trustees, said, ‘I am delighted to welcome Ravi to Nesta. His record of strategic thinking and innovation will help him build on Geoff Mulgan’s achievement in transforming Nesta from a quango to an independent charity promoting innovation for social good.

‘There are huge opportunities today to use new technology and science to transform society for the better and to meet the challenges we face – from climate change to the loss of trust in big institutions. Under Ravi, I am confident Nesta will continue to nurture the best innovations, show that they work and collaborate to scale.’

Ravi Gurumurthy said, ‘Nesta plays a unique role generating, researching and scaling innovation in the UK and globally. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to build on the terrific work done by Geoff Mulgan and the team, and harness the skills, networks and resources of Nesta to tackle the biggest societal challenges of our time.’

Prior to joining the International Rescue Committee in 2013, Ravi held a number of roles in the UK Government, including Director of Strategy at the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change and as a strategic advisor to the Foreign Secretary.

For more on the appointment see: http://www.nesta.org.uk