Anisha Rajapakse is a senior global professional with two decades of progressive expertise working at the intersection of international development, human rights, and business, spanning Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Pacific regions.
Anisha works primarily in social sustainability with a particular focus on ESG, Business & Human Rights, Gender Equality, Economic Empowerment of Women, Climate Change, Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) and business integrity. Essentially, focusing on facilitating positive economic, environmental and social impact for communities and business.
A British national of Sri Lankan origin, she is currently based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as Senior Client Advisor Sustainability at AccountAbility – a global consulting and standards firm that works with businesses, investors, governments, and multi-lateral organizations on ESG matters.
Most recently Anisha was the Senior Programme Consultant – Sustainability & Human Rights for Control Risks, and seconded to Amazon Saudi Arabia as its ‘Risk Investigator’ for Social Responsibility in the Kingdom .Previous roles included Director of Stakeholder Engagement at the Fair Labour Alliance, supporting companies to ethically recruit and manage workforces and mitigate risk of illegal and unethical exploitation, and Head of Stakeholder engagement at amfori (Business Association) based in Brussels, supporting companies to embed sustainability into corporate policies and strategies. In London, Anisha led the Human Development Programme at the Commonwealth for several years, working across the four regions to bring together governments and civil society to address issues that impact people and the planet. In Afghanistan for 2 years, Anisha was with GIZ as their Development Communications Expert. Over the years she has consulted widely and in advisory roles with the UN, government, civil society and businesses.
Anisha holds a MA in International Relations, BA in Sociology, English and Economics, a Diploma in Journalism, and is an alumnus of the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Programme (ISEP).