Greenpeace hires ex-UK head as global chief

Former Greenpeace UK marketing director Chris Williams is returning to the environmental pressure group, as the international director of fundraising and marketing.

Williams, who joins in September, will be based at Greenpeace’s headquarters in Amsterdam. He replaces Daryl Upsall, who left in February to set up his own consultancy after seven years in the position (MW July 6, 2000).

Williams joined the UK Greenpeace office in 1992 as marketing director, before moving to the Nordic Regions offices, again as marketing director. He left the environmental group two years ago and moved to Kenya to become head of fundraising and marketing at AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation), one of the largest Third World aid groups in Africa.

Before joining Greenpeace, Williams was direct marketing manager at Action Aid.

He says: “It’s a great job. It is somewhere you can make a difference.”

Williams says that at an international level, campaigns and fundraising will be co-ordinated through his position, although each region also has its own marketing director.

Earlier this year, Greenpeace complained about Esso’s sponsorship of National Tree Week, organised by the Tree Council. The pressure group backed the call from Stop Esso campaigners for the organisers of the National Tree Week to reconsider accepting the petrol giant’s sponsorship (MW June 28).