Claude Graves Managing Director Nihiwatu West Sumba Island

Wharton Speaker >> Biography

Claude Graves is the Managing Director of Nihiwatu, a boutique eco-resort on Sumba Island in NTT. He is also the founder and director of The Sumba Foundation a nonprofit organization with registered offices in Indonesia, America and Australia, the foundation is dedicated to alleviating the burdens of poverty on the island through tourism.

Together with his wife Petra they pioneered tourism on Sumba Island starting in 1989. Since then they have developed a model of responsible tourism that is globally recognized as a leader in its field. Nihiwatu is a founding member of The Long Run, an initiative that has developed a performance and process-based certification system that integrates the 4Cs, Conservation-Community-Culture-Commerce. This certification is setting a new standard in sustainability and is a driving force in promoting and developing sustainable thinking around the globe.