Ruth Shapiro

The co-founder and chief executive of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS), Ruth Shapiro helped to establish the organisation in 2013 alongside property tycoon Ronnie Chan. CAPS researches the business of philanthropy, with the aim of increasing social investment across Asia, and is particularly known for the Doing Good Index, an in-depth look at 15 economies around the continent that reveals both local and regional philanthropic trends.

Shapiro started her career working in international development in her native US, and in the mid-1990s worked with Chan for the first time to set up the Asian Business Council. She was executive director of the organisation until 2008, while from 2008 to 2018 she was a principal at consulting firm Keyi Strategies. She is the author of Pragmatic Philanthropy: Asian Charity Explained (2018) and the co-author of Building Energy Efficiency: Why Green Buildings Are Key to Asia’s Future (2007).