New World Vision US President Calls Job ‘An Improbable Miracle of God’

COO Edgar Sandoval will replace longtime leader Richard Stearns in October.

One of World Vision US’s senior leaders, Edgar Sandoval, has been named its next president and CEO.

Sandoval, who was born in Los Angeles but grew up surrounded by poverty in Guatemala and Venezuela, called his appointment “an improbable miracle of God,” having moved back to the US alone at 18 with $50, learned English, and built a career as a top executive.

The Ivy League graduate and former Procter & Gamble vice president has served as World Vision US’s chief operating officer since 2015.

Sandoval replaces outgoing president Richard Stearns, who led the organization—one of America’s largest charities—since 1998. Stearns announced in January that he planned to retire at the end of the year.

As CT reported:

During Stearns’s time as CEO, World Vision’s annual revenue grew to more than $1 billion, and the ministry reports that it is on track to serve more than 30 million children by 2022. During his tenure, World Vision has responded to global poverty, human trafficking, the refugee crisis, water sanitation, famine, and dozens of natural disasters.

Sandoval will step into his new role in October.

“This is exactly where I need to be,” Sandoval said after joining World Vision as COO. “The work that we’re doing here at World Vision is life-changing work. It impacts millions of children around the world. I think it’s a privilege and I get immense satisfaction from coming to work.”

Prior to his work with the major Christian aid organization, Sandoval launched Procter & Gamble’s viral #LikeAGirl campaign while the vice president of global feminine care.