On May 7th, Alaska Conservation Foundation gained a new team member! Ruan du Plessis joined us as our Director of Finance and Operations.
Ruan was born and raised about as far away from the Alaskan wilderness as one can get – at the Southern tip of Africa. He spent five years with PwC, both in South Africa and Bermuda, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant along the way, before making his way over to the US. As a finance consultant for The Siegfried Group, he worked on projects at Fortune 1000 companies. He traveled throughout the country in the process, including doing an assignment in Alaska, where he quickly became captivated by the natural splendor.
Interlaced with his professional assignments, Ruan also consulted with various conservation organizations on how to improve their financial operations and he decided to make the switch from corporate accounting permanent by joining ACF in May 2018.
When not wielding debits and credits to protect Alaska’s natural environment, Ruan can be found hiking, enjoying a good glass of wine or getting lost exploring a new town or city.
