The Centre for Social Innovation is thrilled to announce that Rahul Raj, a social entrepreneur and corporate transformation strategist, has joined CSI’s Board of Directors.
“As a social entrepreneur who has innovated in both the nonprofit and corporate sectors, in big and small organizations, we know that Rahul’s strategic insight and creativity will be critical to helping CSI take our work to the next level,” says Tonya Surman, Co-Founder and CEO of CSI.
Rahul founded and developed Meal Exchange, mobilizing students to achieve a more secure and sustainable food system on campuses and in communities across the country. The nonprofit has since expanded across Canada and to the United States and Australia, raised over $3M to feed those in need, and been recognized by TIME magazine as “revolutionary.”
As the VP of Marketing & E-Commerce at Ecobee, Rahul helped design and launch ecobee3 as the smarter wi-fi thermostat for homes with more than one room, helping people save money and energy – a win for people and the planet. Since stewarding the consumer launch in September 2014, and forging a path into retail, he’s helped propel ecobee to the #2 smart thermostat brand in the US, the highest rated smart thermostat by consumers and media, and the exclusive smart thermostat sold in Apple stores.
As the Director of Sustainability + Merchandising Innovation at Walmart.com, he incubated new revenue streams to deliver economic and social impact. Most notably he developed a multi-channel trade-in program to help Walmart’s customers turn high-quality gadgets into gift cards. He then built out a refurbishing infrastructure to bring these electronics to like-new condition for resale and keep them out of landfill. For these efforts, he was honored with Walmart’s Innovation Champion Award, a fellowship with the Aspen Institute, and by GOOD magazine as 1 of 100 people pushing the world forward in 2013.
Rahul will help guide CSI’s work as we build out our acceleration work and scale our operations.
Welcome to the team Rahul!
