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Monique Villa was appointed CEO of Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2008, shortly after the acquisition of Reuters by Thomson. She has since transformed the former Reuters Foundation into a strategic, high-impact and truly global foundation that reflects the expertise and business acumen of the company.

With the strong belief that information is a form of aid that can strengthen humanitarian work, spread the rule of law and ultimately save lives, Monique has built upon the Foundation’s successful programmes in media and journalism training around the world to launch several new initiatives.

In January 2010, she created the Emergency Information Service (EIS) to provide critical information to survivors of Haiti’s devastating earthquake. EIS provided an unprecedented lifeline for tens of thousands of people through SMS messages, demonstrating that two-way communication is key to saving lives and bolstering recovery.

In June 2010, she launched TrustLaw, a service to connect lawyers willing to work at no cost with NGOs, social entrepreneurs and governments in need of legal assistance. With members in more than 140 countries, TrustLaw is also a global hub of news and information on anti-corruption and good governance.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Monique was Managing Director of Reuters Media and Chairman of Action Images. Monique managed the picture and text news business for Reuters from 2001. She transformed the picture business and negotiated important deals for Media and Editorial, including a partnership with the International Herald Tribune to jointly produce their business pages, both in print and online.

A French national, Monique spent the first part of her career at Agence France-Presse (AFP) where she held a number of senior journalistic and management positions. She reported for a number of years from Paris, Rome and London where she was bureau chief from 1991 to 1996. She then became Director of Strategy and Business Development at AFP headquarters in Paris, with responsibility for the agency’s major partnerships worldwide.

Married with two sons, Monique studied Law and Political Science and has a Diploma from the Paris Centre de Formation Des Journalistes.

Tim Large is Editor of three news services run by Thomson Reuters Foundation: the AlertNet humanitarian news website; its related Emergency Information Service (EIS); and the TrustLaw website on anti-corruption and free legal assistance.

Before joining the Foundation in 2003 he was a correspondent for Reuters News in Tokyo, a staff writer for a major Japanese daily newspaper and news editor of a popular online science magazine. He has also worked as a freelance journalist. He has written widely on humanitarian themes as well as social issues, economics, science, literature and the arts. He is an experienced photographer and passionate about multimedia reporting.

He led the creation of EIS, a free, SMS-based mass information service for disaster-affected populations, which deployed for the first time after the January 2010 Haiti earthquake. He spearheaded the AlertNet for Journalists initiative aimed at helping media professionals around the world tackle neglected wars, disasters and health emergencies. He has designed and delivered the Foundation’s "Reporting crises and disasters" courses for local journalists in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Born in the United States, raised in Australia, naturalised in Britain and a long-time resident of Japan, he considers himself a global citizen. He has a First Class degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University and in 1997 was a Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Scholar in Tokyo.

Maria joined the Foundation in November 2008, where she heads the team in charge of two of the communities the Foundation has created: AlertNet's community of 450 humanitarian NGOs and the TrustLaw Connect community bringing together lawyers, NGOs and social entrepreneurs.

Before joining the Foundation, Maria worked at the International Crisis Group, a world leading source of analysis and advice on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict. She held different positions there, most recently as Director, Private Sector Initiatives. In that position, she was in charge of relations with the private sector outside of North America, contributing to corporations understanding of emerging economies and countries in conflict and post-conflict situations.

Maria completed an MBA at the Said Business School (University of Oxford) in 2007, where she worked, inter alia, on political risk and government affairs, new approaches to corporate responsibility, negotiations and social marketing. Maria also holds a Master's degree in European Union Studies.

She speaks fluent Spanish and English and good Portuguese.