Asthildur Hjaltadottir

Ms. Asthildur Hjaltadottir-de la Fuente is originally Icelandic and now also holds the Dutch nationality. She has degrees in English Language and Literature and Political Science from the University of Iceland. Her first interaction with the topic of sustainability was back in 1993 when she as a young graduate worked as a Personal Assistant to the Minister of Environment in Iceland. She later moved to Brussels and worked for the European Free Trade Association organizations for nine years. Subsequently Asthildur moved to the Netherlands where she joined GRI – the Global Reporting Initiative – the pioneer in sustainability reporting, in 2007. At that time, sustainability was a topic mostly seen in relation to environmental issues but during this time Asthildur has witnessed first-hand how sustainability in its broadest sense has evolved to also include a multitude of other topics including governance and indeed social related issues, which is why these topics are now collectively increasingly referred to as ESG.

During her 17 years tenure with GRI, Asthildur held various different positions. Including being the Director of Services and Training and Chief Regional Officer (CRO), overseeing GRI’s regional offices. This entailed developing and being responsible for the implementation of donor funded programs focusing on training and coaching, mainly in emerging markets. As part of this work, Asthildur travelled the world to give trainings and other types of presentations and workshops.