Pavitray (Pavs) Pillay was appointed Head of Business Development and Marketing at WWF South Africa in 2024, leading the organisation’s work to enable its ambitious 2030 strategy.

Her career began in marine biology, underpinned by a BSc in Zoology and Archaeology from the University of the Witwatersrand and an MSc in Marine Biology and Marine Science Communication from the University of Cape Town. Early roles in government and inter-country conservation shaped her understanding of the challenges facing people and nature across Africa.

A pivotal moment during her academic career revealed a critical truth — that scientific knowledge alone is not enough without addressing human behaviour. This insight continues to guide Pavs’s dual focus at WWF: securing vital funding for conservation and building transformative partnerships with business to embed sustainability at the heart of corporate practice.

“My goal is to make conservation relevant and accessible to all South Africans,” says Pavs. “Only by broadening participation can we create a future where both people and nature thrive.”