Nicholas Institute Board of Advisors

Carter S. Roberts
Carter Roberts became president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund on July 1, 2005. He joined WWF in March 2004 as Chief Conservation Officer and COO. Roberts has broad experience in designing and implementing nature conservation programs, in both the domestic and international arenas, as well as extensive business, management, communications, fundraising, and strategic planning expertise.

Prior to coming to WWF, Roberts served as Vice President, Director Strategic Planning and Global Priorities at The Nature Conservancy. During his tenure there, Roberts held a number of positions that helped shape the vision and set priorities for the organization. On special assignment to TNC President John Sawhill, Roberts served as Director of Strategic Planning and earlier, as TNC's Division Vice-President, Central America, he co-authored the current version of Conservation by Design, which articulates the organization's conservation approach. Roberts also managed six country programs and several conservation partnerships spanning Central America. In his early years with TNC, Roberts served as Massachusetts State Director for the organization, building collaborations among state and local governments and environmental groups.

In addition to conservation program and operations management experience, Roberts brings substantial business acumen to WWF, having held marketing and management positions with a number of global companies before turning to conservation. He holds an M.B.A from Harvard University and an A.B. from Princeton University.