Dr Caroline Harper CBE joined Sightsavers as CEO of Sightsavers in 2005, Since then Sightsavers that has grown significantly in the areas of eye health, neglected tropical diseases and disability.

Dr Caroline Harper CBE joined Sightsavers as CEO of Sightsavers in 2005, Since then Sightsavers that has grown significantly in the areas of eye health, neglected tropical diseases and disability. Income and impact have dramatically increased, and the organisation has developed a reputation for managing large consortia (of both donors and partners), efficient support to implementing partners (particularly governments) and effective advocacy (especially in conjunction with organisations of people with disabilities).

Dr Harper graduated in Physics from Bristol University in 1981, and went on to Churchill College, Cambridge to do a PhD in Energy Studies. She worked in the gas industry until 2002. As Managing Director she built Hess UK's gas and electricity trading and marketing business from scratch, until it was sold in 2002 for £120 million. From 2002 to 2005 Dr Harper ran her own interim management business, specialising in turnaround and sale of energy businesses (with a bit of a gap year in the middle to travel to a number of interesting places ranging from Egypt, to the Galapagos, to China and Antarctica}.

Caroline was awarded an OBE for services to the gas industry in 2000, an honorary doctorate from Bristol University in 2013 and a CBE for services to visually impaired people abroad in 2016. She is also a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.