Leanne Melnyk on joining Quizrr as Head of Impact and Partnerships.

Quizrr

Admin

"I’m elated to be joining Quizrr as Head of Impact & Partnerships. Timing couldn’t be better with Quizrr’s recent expansion to the Middle East, the continued momentum of human rights due diligence and related need for worker-centric solutions that leverages tech to enable true impact at scale.

My pathway to Quizrr has been full of adventure. It’s taken me around the world and back again – from law school in Canada and India to ten incredible years with the United Nations in Switzerland - six years with Li & Fung and Diginex in Hong Kong and now with Quizrr here in the snow-capped peaks of British Columbia.

I’ve learned so much along the way that now will augment Quizrr’s growing influence across global value chains. My time at the International Labour helped me to see the true value of International Labour Standards particularly when they’re transposed into national law, enforced by governments, and respected by the private sector. They create a shared “north star” and must remain at the foundations of any training materials and guidance given to managers and workers.

While working at the ILO/IFC Better Work Programme and studying sustainable value chains at Cambridge University, I learned more about the governance gap and power imbalances created by globalization. This coincided with the adoption of new International Frameworks such as the United Nations Guiding Principles - affirming that the corporate responsibility to respect exists over and above compliance with national laws and regulations and independently of the State’s ability or willingness to meet its own duty to protect human rights. This private sector responsibility to respect human rights, was then further articulated in the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct.  

It was the moment for change – so I challenged myself to leave the comfort of the United Nations, “get into the trenches”. I left Switzerland and joined a Hong Kong-based trading company, Li & Fung, that works with brands and retailers from the East and the West to source apparel and home goods. But I quickly learned that you can’t create positive impact through annual audits alone.  Capacity-building and engagement with workers and managers in the supply chain on key social topics is essential for behavioural change and that combined with effective grievance channels can start to address the power imbalances. Nor is it possible to train “at scale” through a pure analogue approach. The most salient risks in global supply chains lie in the lower tiers, in logistics facilities and with transactional suppliers – and we need a flexible, scalable, and low-cost way to reach them."

"I see this next step in joining Quizrr as a testament to my continued belief in the transformative power of new technology as means to enable workers and business to actively participate in and reap the benefits of corporate due diligence. Last year Quizrr reached over 150,000 workers with lively, interactive, and practical training on human rights and compliance issues, which is pretty impressive. But equally – the team reached 14,000 managers in key producing countries – a key ingredient for replicable change and a pre-condition for employer respect of worker rights.

I’m excited to become part of Quizrr’s journey ahead and look forward to working with this incredibly passionate and purpose-driven team to reach our shared 2030 vision of empowering 100 million people with knowledge to instigate change."

About Leanne Melnyk

Melnyk has 16+ years of experience enabling companies to address complex sustainability issues in their operations and supply chains. Her deep knowhow is shaped through Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence and ESG reporting frameworks through almost a decade of work at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva as well as serving as Vice President of Sustainability with the world's largest global supply chain company (Li & Fung) in Hong Kong. More recently Leanne served as Head of Sustainable Supply Chains at Diginex, leading strategic relationships with large corporations helping use impact technology to identify and address social and environmental risks across their supply chains.

Melnyk holds a Juris Doctor in Law (with a focus on Labour Law), a BA in International Relations and Post Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Business as well as a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion. She frequently shares her knowledge on ESG/Sustainability topics, and the evolving reporting/due diligence frameworks (GRI, OECD etc.) with senior executives at events hosted by industry groups and the United Nations.

Reach out to Melnyk here.