Expert Profile

Ms Florence Rossetti is an Executive-in-Residence within the Global Fellowship Initiative of the GCSP. Combining 10 years of experience in philanthropy foundations in Switzerland with an early career in managing field projects for international organisations in Asia (China, Laos, Cambodia), Florence is passionate about co-constructing programmes to achieve meaningful results and positive change on some of the most pressing issues of our time. A value-driven philanthropy foundation executive and trusted partnership builder, she has dedicated her career to bringing donors’ vision into concrete actions in the field of sustainable development, human safety, good governance, and healthy environments while promoting the role of philanthropy as an enabler and incubator of social change. As Secretary General of the Primat Foundation from 2017 to 2022, she led, developed and implemented a robust grant making strategy focusing on Education and Environment, creating a multi-annual portfolio of over 35 projects with prominent and influential organisations such as CERN & Society Foundation, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Ice Memory Foundation, IDDRI-Sciences Po, Beyond Plastic Med-Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Global Fishing Watch, Compassion in World Farming… Prior to this, she worked as Senior Program Manager at Cartier Philanthropy, a corporate charity initiated by the Richemont group. From its inception in 2012 and starting from a white page, she selected, established, and managed more than 20 strategic partnerships in numerous countries contributing to help least favoured communities, especially women, to break from poverty and express their full potential. Beforehand, she spent over 10 years in Asia where, among others, she was employed at the Cooperation Department of the French Embassy and MSF in Beijing, China, for 5 years with frequent travels to Xinjiang and Tibetan areas. She also lived in Laos & Cambodia where she was active in the field of migration studies and refugee protection with UNHCR. She later moved to New York for a family break, where she met and started to consult for Trace Foundation. Florence holds a master’s degree in political science. She speaks French, English and is conversational in mandarin Chinese. She lives in Geneva with her family since 2006.