The Wellcome Trust’s newly appointed CEO has begun his tenure. John-Arne Røttingen, a former ambassador for global health at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Norway, was hired back in October.  

“It is a privilege to lead Wellcome, an organisation I have long admired. I look forward to working alongside my new colleagues in London and Germany to deliver on our mission to support science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone,” said Røttingen, in a LinkedIn post.  

He will be spending his first few months in London before travelling across Asia and Africa.  

Røttingen already has a long association with Wellcome. He was the founding CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI), which Wellcome helped to launch in 2017. 

The Norwegian has also led the steering groups for the Ebola vaccine trial in Guinea and the Covid-19 World Health Organisation Solidarity Trial, as well as the Lancet Series on access and sustainable effectiveness of antimicrobials.  

The world’s second largest foundation, with an endowment of $46.2 billion, has committed to spending £16 billion on science-based solutions to tackling infectious diseases and health impacts of the climate crisis over the decade to 2032.  

In 2021, the Wellcome Trust announced a strategy to bring its £29 billion endowment, invested in shares, hedge funds, private equity, and property, to carbon net zero by 2050. The foundation has been criticised in the past for its decision to stay invested in fossil fuels. 

Shafi Musaddique is news editor at Alliance magazine.