Derek Yach (born 21 November 1955) was the president of the

Philip Morris International Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational tobacco company, with products sold in over 180 countries. The most recognized and best selling product of the company is Marlboro. Philip Morris I ...

-funded

Foundation for a Smoke-Free World The Foundation for a Smoke-Free World is an organization founded in 2017. It is funded by Philip Morris International, which had initial plans for $80 million in annual funding, with the aim of smoking harm reduction. The current pledge agreem ...

. He is a former employee of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

and of

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

Education

He received his MBChB from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

in 1979 and his MPH from

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...

in 1985. In 2007, he received an honorary DSc from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Career

Yach was Chief Health Officer of the Vitality Group and the Executive Director of the Vitality Institute. At the WHO, Yach served under Director-General

Gro Harlem Brundtland Gro Brundtland (; born Gro Harlem, 20 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician (Arbeiderpartiet), who served three terms as the 29th prime minister of Norway (1981, 1986–89, and 1990–96) and as the director-general of the World Health Organizati ...

, as a cabinet director where he worked on the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the Global Strategy on Diet and Physical Activity. Yach worked temporarily at the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

and served as SVP for Global Health and Agriculture Policy at

(2007–13)

Foundation for a Smoke-Free World

Yach helped establish the

in September 2017 with funding of USD 80 million annually for 12 years pledged by the

tobacco industry The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...

, “to accelerate global efforts to reduce health impacts and deaths from smoking, with the goal of ultimately eliminating smoking worldwide. Departed 25 Oct 2021

Memberships and associations

Yach serves on several advisory boards, including the NIH’s John E. Fogarty International Center. He serves on the Board of Directors of Cornerstone Capital Group, a sustainable finance-focused investment advisory firm founded by

Erika Karp Erika Karp is an American entrepreneur, businesswoman and investment advisor as well as a writer and speaker on issues related to sustainable finance. She is the Founder and chief executive officer of Cornerstone Capital Inc., an investment firm ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yach, Derek PepsiCo people South African businesspeople World Health Organization officials Living people 1955 births South African officials of the United Nations