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HomeNewsArchivesAbraham Tarapani, Graduate of Antilles School, Selected as Aspen Institute First Fellow

Abraham Tarapani, Graduate of Antilles School, Selected as Aspen Institute First Fellow

The Aspen Institute Business and Society Program has announced the fourth class of First Mover Fellows, individuals who are working within companies to unite business growth with a sustainable society in the products and services they are developing. Abraham Tarapani has been selected to be a part of this prestigious group. The fellows chosen this year come from a wide variety of industries including finance (Citigroup and BlackRock); energy (GE Energy); retail (Walmart); technology (Microsoft, HP and AOL); clothing (Levis Strauss and Nike); executive search (Egon Zehnder International); and advertising (Arnold Worldwide).

“The work of these remarkable business innovators demonstrates the array of opportunities companies have to achieve financial success and positive social and environmental impacts,” said Nancy McGaw, director of the First Movers Fellowship Program.
Tarapani is vice president of global strategy and business development at Astonfield Renewables. Astonfield was founded in 2007 to develop, own and operate utility scale renewable energy power plants in emerging markets such as India, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa with an initial focus on solar power generation in India. Tarapani is responsible for Astonfield’s expansion into new markets, including working with government policymakers and electricity regulators to promote policies to attract private sector investment in affordable, large-scale renewable energy solutions. He also develops global technology partnerships for Astonfield to support the implementation of its solar portfolio.
“I am honored to be selected to join such a prestigious group of individuals who are dedicated to advancing values-based leadership in their respective industries,” said Tarapani. “I look forward to sharing Astonfield ideals and ideas with my fellows, as we work to create long-term value for communities, our employees and the planet.”
Candidates for the fellowship must be nominated by their peers. The selection process, which occurs over several months, begins with phone interviews with Aspen staff. If selected for a second round, fellows must complete an application in which they describe the "next stage innovation project" they would undertake if selected to be in the program. Candidates are also interviewed by former fellows. The final selection of the class is made by the fellowship design team.
The fellowship was developed by the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program, whose mission is to equip business leaders for the 21st century with a new management paradigm—the vision and knowledge to integrate corporate profitability and social value.
Tarapani adds this to his long list of achievements, including the Presidential Scholar honor in the year 2000, which recognizes and provides leadership development opportunities for some of America’s most outstanding graduating high school seniors. He is one of three to earn the honor from the Virgin Islands. In 2008, he was featured in Consulting magazine in their 30 under 30 article, “The Rising Stars of the Profession,” at the age of 25. He is the son of Abe and Wendy Tarapani of Diamonds International.

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