FLA promotes veteran staffer Richa Mittal to Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer

WASHINGTON, DC, May 29, 2024 — The Fair Labor Association (FLA) today announced the promotion of longtime staff member Richa Mittal to Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer. In this newly created role, Mittal will drive innovation across various FLA programs, including those focused on manufacturing, agriculture, knowledge management, and worker voice.

“FLA was founded 25 years ago to improve the lives of workers in apparel supply chains worldwide, and our work has expanded significantly since then. Our team continues to innovate in ways that move the whole field of business and human rights forward,” said FLA President and CEO Jeff Vockrodt.

“At a time of fundamental sea changes in our work — the shift to mandatory human rights due diligence, rapidly advancing artificial intelligence tools, and dramatic adjustments to address climate change in economies around the world — we need to be more strategic and thoughtful about innovation than ever. Richa has been the architect of many of our most groundbreaking programs and partnerships, and she is the perfect person to lead our innovation work during this period of rapid change.”

In her new position, Mittal will be responsible for accelerating the pace at which FLA can explore new sectors, pursue work in upstream supply chains, develop solutions-oriented collaborations, promote a just transition, and take advantage of new technology.

“Our members are hungry for innovative solutions, worker-centric approaches, and forward-looking programs,” said Mittal. “In keeping with FLA’s deep philosophy of continuous improvement, I am committed to fostering new collective approaches to solve old problems and quicken the pace at which we address human and labor rights challenges in supply chains.”

An ardent advocate of human and labor rights for over two decades, Mittal has pursued the advancement of human rights due diligence in complex supply chains in both manufacturing and agriculture. She is a recognized leader in building successful multi-stakeholder coalitions that bring together businesses, civil society organizations, and governments to tackle topics ranging from child protection, forced labor, and responsible recruitment to gender justice, living income, and living wage. She joined FLA in 2003 and has worked in the US, Asia, and Europe.

Mittal holds an MPH from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA), and an MS in human ecology from the University of Delhi (India). She currently resides in Switzerland with her family.

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The Fair Labor Association (FLA) promotes human rights at work. We are an international network of companies, universities, and civil society organizations collaborating to ensure that millions of people working at the world’s factories and farms are paid fairly and protected from risks to their health, safety, and well-being.

CONTACT:
Stacy Hope
communications@fairlabor.org